Familial Betrayal
by lilballerette10
Summary: In that moment, Danny knew he had to choose between his little brother and his best friend. And Steve finds out who Wo Fat is to Doris. SteveWhump! SteveAngst! DannyAngst!
1. The Elusive Brother Returns

**Chapter 1**

Danny Williams was not a morning person, sometimes he wasn't an afternoon or evening person either but he definitely wasn't a morning person, so when he heard the knocks on his door at 6am on his day off the only thing he wanted to do was take his gun and shoot the person on the other side of his door.

Okay. So maybe that was a bit dramatic, but he definitely wanted to punch them, and by them he meant his psychotic, sleep deprived, machine of a man partner.

"I'm going to kill you Steven," Danny mumbled under his breath as he opened his closet to grab a pair of shorts.

Steve had said that he may come by and drop off some papers that Danny had needed from the office, but Danny was less than enthused that he had decided to come drop them off at 6am. Danny stumbled to the front door and opened it angrily.

"What is the matter with you Stev..." Danny stopped mid sentence as he looked at the person standing in front of him.

"That's no way to greet your favourite little brother Danny!" Matt walked in and grabbed Danny into a hug.

Danny was so shocked he didn't even return the embrace. He stood there hands by his side as Matt squeezed him. The last time Danny had seen his baby brother, Matt was on a private jet off the Island, running away from the Feds.

Matt finally let go of Danny and turned around, closed the door behind him, and proceeded to take a seat on the couch.

Danny hadn't moved from his place in front of the door. He finally spun around to face Matt.

"Matty, what the hell are you doing here man, the last time I saw you..."

"I know Danny," Matt cut him off. "I know I left behind a little bit of a mess last time."

"A little bit of a mess?" Danny looked at Matt incredulously. "No Matty, you crashing my car is a little bit of a mess, you being accused of fraud and running from the Feds is a huge, massive, colossal mess. Why would you come back here of all places?

Danny saw the hurt that flashed across his brother's eyes but he couldn't be bothered to feel guilty right now. Matt owned him an explanation.

"I made a deal with the Feds and got cleared of all charges," Matt masked the hurt and put on a big smile.

Danny stood there shell shocked and disappointed, he had always hoped that somehow, someway the Feds had gotten it all wrong and Matt didn't actually do everything they were accusing him of.

"So you did do it, steal all that money...how do you get cleared of all charges?"

"I paid back every dime I owed those people and I worked as an informant for the FBI. Apparently they wanted some people way above me and I was the "in" they needed. I helped them and now I'm cleared."

Matt got up and walked over to Danny's fridge, grabbed a beer and sat back on the couch.

Danny sat down too as he needed to process everything he had just heard, it didn't help that it was really early and he was really tired. Despite everything that Danny had just heard his brother say, there was one thing he needed to know.

"Why Matty," the look of disappointment in Danny's eyes almost broke Matt's heart. Despite all the trouble he had gotten himself into, the one thing he regretted the most was hurting Danny.

Matt looked at the ground and started playing with his hands. He was nervous to tell his big brother what a screw up he was.

Matt spent the next hour explaining to Danny what had been happening in his life for the past two years, how he had lost a lot of money and thought "borrowing" it from clients wouldn't be a problem, but then he had a hard time returning the borrowed money. Pretty much anything that could have gone wrong, went wrong.

Although Danny didn't condone any of the things Matt had done, he was still his little brother and he would always forgive him. So he sat through Matt's explanations trying his best to keep an open mind and not to judge, after all, everyone makes mistakes right?

**TBC...**


	2. Family Reunion

**Chapter 2**

The next morning Danny was up at 6am and decided to make Matt and him breakfast before Steve came to pick him up for work.

Danny was so happy to have Matt back, to know where Matt finally was and to know that he was safe and not running from the law. Danny would never admit this to anyone but he had spent several sleepless nights wondering where Matt may have been and wondering if Matt had done everything that the Feds had accused him of doing. So to say that he was glad to have Matt under his roof again, and to know that everything was dealt with was an understatement.

Matt was still not up by the time Steve arrived so Danny left the food covered with a note on top of the plates.

"Good morning Steven," Danny smiled as he climbed into his car that Steve refused to let him drive.

Steve looked over at Danny with a look of concern and placed his hand on Danny's forehead.

"What are you doing you Neanderthal," Danny swiped Steve's hand away.

"Ah, much better, you had me worried with your cheerful attitude so early in the morning," Steve smirked as he pulled out of Danny's driveway and onto the road.

"Hilarious Steven, I just happen to be in a good mood is all."

Now Steve was really curious, Danny was rarely ever in a good mood, let alone in the morning.

"Why?" Steve wouldn't drop this until Danny told him what he wanted to hear.

"Why What?"

"Why are you in a good mood?"

"Can't a guy just be in a good mood?"

"Sure, a _guy_ can, but Danny Williams, naw," Steve laughed as he saw the death stare Danny was giving him.

"Well if you must know, Matty's back in town," Danny all but rushed through that sentence knowing the barrage of questions that he knew were about to come his way.

"Your brother Matty?"

Danny rolled his eyes.

"No my great uncle Matty, he's back from the dead and in town." Steve smirked.

"You don't even know how to properly be in a good mood," Steve loved trying to get a rise out of Danny.

"Well I'm sorry Steven, when you ask me silly questions I'm going to give you a silly answer back."

Steve smiled but then his tone turned a little bit more serious.

"So what's going on with Matty, why's he back here, is he still on the run, is he in trouble, if he..."

"Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't aware we were playing 21 questions," Danny quipped.

The right side of Steve's mouth curved into a grin.

"He's not on the run anymore, he cleared everything up with the Feds, he worked undercover for them for awhile and they cleared his name."

Steve kept quiet and stared straight ahead at the road in front of him.

"What..." Steve knew by Danny's tone where this was headed.

"Nothing"

"Steve, I know that look, you have something to say so just say it."

Steve took a second to think about what he was going to say, he had to word this correctly so that Danny didn't freak out on him.

"It's great your brother's back Danny, and I know he's your little brother and you love him and want to trust him, but how can you be sure that he's telling you the truth?"

Danny looked at Steve like he had been slapped in the face.

"How dumb do you think I am, I'm not an idiot Steve, I know what Matty did, I called in a contact at the FBI and they collaborated Matty's story, everything he said was true," Danny spoke a little harsher than he had meant to, clearly it was still a sore subject.

"I know you're not an idiot Danny, it's just when it comes to family we sometimes turn a blind eye, that's all, I'd know better than anyone. Just didn't want to see him let you down again, that's all," Danny could hear the sincerity in Steve's voice and instantly regretted raising his voice to him.

"Yeah, I know...thanks," Danny smiled at Steve.

Danny spent the rest of the ride explaining to Steve everything that Matt had explained to him.

* * *

By the end of the day everyone knew that Matt was back in town and cleared by the FBI and since everyone really wanted to see him, Danny decided to have a little get-together at his place after work with some beers and pizza.

As they walked in Matt was organizing the table with chips and dip and other appetizers that he had scrounged up since Danny called to tell him that the team was coming over to see him.

As they all walked in Matt was a little nervous as to the kind of reception he would receive by them, after all he didn't leave on the best note last time.

Kono was the first one in the door and raced to give Matt a hug.

"Welcome back Matt, it's really good to see you," Kono smiled and she embraced him. And just like that the nervousness Matt was feeling eased away.

"Thank you Kono, it's really good to be back, and it's nice to see all of you again."

Chin went next to give Matt a hug and then Steve.

"Welcome back Matty."

"Thanks Steve, and thank you for everything you did that night that I left, Danny told me how you covered for me," Matt looked over at Danny and gave an apologetic smile.

Truth of the matter was Steve didn't do it for Matt, he did it for Danny so Danny would have the time to go talk some sense into Matt before the Feds barged in; but Matt didn't need to know that right now, so he just replied with a simple fact.

"No need to thank me, you're family," Steve smiled and clasped Matt's shoulder. Danny looked over and gave Steve an appreciative smile. He knew the risk Steve took that night lying to the Feds, but he had done it anyway, not that he would've expected any less from his partner.

They all spent the night telling stories and laughing and joking around. Matt told a few stories of when he was working as an informant, some funny, some not so funny. Steve noticed the beer was running a little low and not wanting to interrupt Danny or Matt, Steve got up and made his way over to the fridge to grab the last case of beer.

By the time he got to the fridge Danny was there right behind him.

"Hey partner, want a beer?"

"Yea i'll take one. Hey I realized I never actually did thank you for that night, for sending those agents in the wrong direction to give me time to get to Matty," he said and he leaned against the counter.

"C'mon Danny, you don't need to thank me for that, you would've done the same for me," Steve mirrored Danny's stance as he stood next to him.

"I know, but still, thank you, it meant a lot," Danny tapped Steve's beer bottle with his own.

"You're welcome Danno," Steve smiled.

The two were so engrossed in their conversation that neither of them saw Matt staring at them.

Matt watched his brother and Steve and noticed how they seemed even closer than they were the last time he dropped by, if that was even possible. Matt shook his head and stared at the ground. Danny had no idea why he was back in town, and Matt only hoped that at the end of this, after all was said and done, that Danny wouldn't hate him forever.

**TBC...**


	3. Of Ghosts and Men

**Chapter 3**

Matt had been in town for a week and so far everything seemed to be going smoothly. Danny had been spending a lot of time with Matt, he had even introduced Amber to him and the two of them hit off instantly. Danny had even taken a few days off to spend some time with Matt, Amber, and Grace, since Grace was on summer holidays. Matt and Danny seemed closer than ever and it was the first time in awhile Steve saw Danny this happy.

Steve had spent his fair time with the foursome as well, on days he was done early or after his shift he would join the 4 of them for whatever they were doing at the time. Steve and Matt seemed like they were getting pretty close too and Steve instantly looked at Matt like a little brother.

A few of the nights they had all been hanging out at Danny's place, Steve had noticed that Matt had been stepping away to take a call at exactly 8pm. Steve was sure that Danny hadn't noticed this and didn't want to bring it up in case it was just a mere coincidence, although Steve's gut was telling him otherwise.

One night when they were at Danny's place, 8pm rolled around and sure enough Matt excused himself to take a phone call.

"Just hurry it up Matty, dinner will be ready in 5 minutes," Danny yelled after him.

Matt gave him a thumbs up as he answered the phone and went down the hallway into Grace's bedroom.

Steve silently slipped away to follow Matt.

"Whoa, whoa, I just said 5 minutes Steven, where you off to?"

"Bathroom Danno, I'm allowed to go to the bathroom right?" Steve smirked as he waited for Danny's response.

Danny didn't bother responding, just gave Steve a "you're such a smartass" glare and went back to checking the barbeque. Steve laughed and headed towards Grace's bedroom.

As he approached the door he could hear the nervousness in Matt's voice, something was definitely going on.

"_I know okay, I know, it's just been a little tough, I've been busy, I need to find the right time"_

Steve pressed his ear a little closer to the door.

"_I know it's been a week,"_ pause _"No of course I'm not backing out, I know what's at stake."_

Maybe he was talking to the Feds, Steve thought. Maybe he's still undercover for them, although he had told Danny that was all cleared up and finished.

"_No please, don't, look I promise we'll be there."_

The fear in Matt's voice told Steve that he definitely wasn't speaking to the Feds. And "we'll be there"...who was we?

The conversation seemed to have ended as Steve heard nothing on the other end of the door. As Matt came out of Grace's room Steve had timed it perfectly so it looked like he had just come out of the bathroom.

"Hey, everything okay?" He was really hoping Matt would tell him about the phone call so he could help.

"Yeah, everything's good, just a colleague following up on some business proposals" he patted Steve's shoulder and walked back towards the kitchen.

Steve noticed the tremble in Matt's hands and he knew for certain that wasn't a "colleague" on the phone. Something was definitely wrong; Matt wasn't going to say anything though so he'd have to figure it out his own way.

Steve walked back to the kitchen.

"I swear to god Steven, you better not have clogged up my toilet," Danny game him a death glare.

Steve laughed.

"C'mon Danny, I don't clog up toilets, I'm a SEAL remember," Steve loved to play the SEAL card in front of Danny cause it bothered him so much.

Danny just looked at him with his hands in the air.

"What does that even have to do with anything Steven?"

"Everything" Steve smiled back as he went to grab some food.

"You're ridiculous," Danny mumbled under his breath but couldn't help but let a little grin appear on his face.

* * *

The five of them spent the rest of the night eating and talking and telling ghost stories, which of course Danny did not believe in.

"When we were younger, I was probably about 8 or 9, I was so sure there was a ghost in my closet, I had seen it a few times..." Matt started as he sat down with a beer.

Danny laughed.

"Correction, he _thought_ that he had seen it a few times."

"Shhh Danno, I want to hear Uncle Matt's story," Grace chimed up.

"Yea sh Danno!" Steve joined in.

Danny grinned.

"_Story_ is correct," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Dannooooo!"

Danny laughed.

"Sorry Monkey, continue Matt," Danny smiled as he took a swig of his beer.

"As I was saying, so I had seen this ghost a few times and I was so freaked out. I would see it in my closet, under my bed, in my bathroom, literally everywhere!" Matt was really animated with his stories, Danny had to give him that much.

"You better not give my daughter nightmares Matt!"

"Danno I'm a big girl, I won't have nightmares about ghosts," Grace protested. "So what did you do Uncle Matt, how did you fall asleep every night knowing that there were ghosts?"

Matt looked over at Danny and smiled.

"Well Grace, your daddy let me sleep with him every night. We had our own rooms but I was so freaked out that I didn't want to sleep alone. So every night I would go to your daddy's room and get under his covers, and you know what, not once did he tell me to leave."

Grace grabbed a hold of Danny's hand.

"That's cause Danno's the best" she smiled and Matt followed suit.

"He sure is, I think that's how we got to be so close, your daddy became my hero back then, he made sure the ghosts never got me."

Steve smiled. That definitely sounds like the Danny he knows and loves. Steve looked over at Danny and could see that he was a little emotional. No one else would really be able to tell but Steve could read Danny like a book. He knew how hard the past few months had been on Danny, not knowing where Matt was and if he was okay. He knew having Matt back meant a lot to him and that he loved his little brother more than anything, except for Grace of course.

Danny cleared the frog in his throat.

"Well someone had to protect him from those imaginary ghosts,"

"Dannoooo", everyone replied in unison.

Everyone laughed.

Steve stole a glance at Matt. He prayed that whatever Matt was on the phone about an hour ago wasn't going to get him in trouble, wasn't going to take him away from Danny and Grace again, and wasn't going to make Danny go through everything he went through the last time Matt disappeared.

**TBC...**


	4. Unchartered Waters

**Chapter 4**

It had been a few days since the barbeque at Danny's place and Steve knew he had to talk to Danny about the phone call he overheard between Matt and whoever was on the other side of the call.

He hated having to even bring this up with Danny but his gut was telling him something was very wrong. Matt was in some sort of trouble and they had to help him, whether he wanted their help or not.

As Steve was driving to Danny's to pick him up, he decided that he would bring it up with him today. The first thing on their agenda today was to ask a witness a few questions and the ride was going to be long enough that Steve could bring up his concerns about Matt with Danny.

* * *

"Morning Steve," Danny stepped into the car and threw his stuff in the back seat.

"Hey Danno, that seat's missed you," Steve grinned. Steve was glad to have Danny back at work beside him.

"I'm sure it has Steven" Danny smiled as he buckled in.

"So what did you guys get up to the last few days?"

"We went to the zoo, the beach, the museum, and the pool. Grace wanted to make sure that Uncle Matt saw everything," Danny smiled.

After Danny spent a few minutes explaining to Steve everything they did at those places he got quiet.

"You alright buddy?" Steve looked over in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good. You know Steve, I don't think I realized how much I missed having Matt around. I mean you know how close Matt and I, he's my baby brother and for a long time he was the only best friend I really had."

"Until me of course," Steve grinned.

Danny smiled back.

"Yes until I met you, the crazy Neanderthal ninja SEAL."

"Hey you finally got it right," Steve was referring to the term SEAL. Danny was known to get it wrong.

Danny laughed.

"But yeah, before you I kind of just had Matt, he helped me through a lot, not just as a teen, but with my divorce and everything."

"Yeah I remember you telling me," Steve smiled empathically.

"It's just been really nice having him here, having him around to actually hang out with and to have Grace be able to hang out with him."

Steve nodded, he knew Danny had more to say.

"Remember when that bomb exploded and we were stuck under all that rubble, do you remember what I told you?"

"About how much you loved me?" Steve grinned, he remembered how uncomfortable it made Danny to actually say those words.

Danny glared at him.

"No you idiot, about me and happiness."

Steve remembered.

"Yeah, of course Danno, how you won't let yourself be happy, how you always think something bad is going to happen."

"Yeah," Danny replied quietly.

"So what about that?"

"I think for the first time in a long time, I actually don't feel that way," Danny smiled looking out the window.

_Crap._

"I mean, things with Amber and I are going great, Grace is perfect and happy, work is amazing – you guys are amazing, and Matt is here and he's not in trouble anymore and we can actually spend time as a family. You know he's actually thinking about moving down here for good," Danny couldn't help the smile that formed on his face.

"Oh yeah? That's great Danny," Steve tried to hide his worry but he knew Danny would see right through it.

From the corner of his eye, Steve could see Danny staring at him. Steve kept his eyes on the road hoping Danny would look away and keep talking, he could surely bring up his concerns about Matt later on today.

"Are we really going to do this again Steven?"

"Do what again?" Steve looked over at his glaring partner.

"You obviously want to say something, so just say it."

"I don't wan..."

"Steve! Just say it!" Danny had mastered Steve's facial expressions, he was going to get this out of Steve one way or another.

Steve took a deep breath, he had to tell Danny, if they were going to help Matt, Danny needed to be in the know.

"Have you noticed that Matt takes a phone call everyday around 8pm?" Steve was hoping that Danny would have noticed.

Danny's face turned to one of shock and anger.

"What...are you keeping tabs on my brother?" Danny started to get a little defensive.

"No, of course not Danno, I just noticed that every time we would hang out he would take a phone call, and one day I happened to look at the time, and when it happened two times in a row I checked my phone again. He's been taking a phone call every day around 8pm."

"Okay...and...?"

"And a few days ago when we had the barbeque at your house, Matt got a phone call again at 8 and went to take it in Grace's room."

Danny squinted his eyes.

"You didn't have to go to the bathroom did you?"

"No, I wanted to see if I could hear who Matt was on the phone with, make sure he wasn't in trouble."

Danny shook his head.

"You're unbelievable," Danny mumbled to himself.

"What?"

"You're unbelievable!" Danny yelled a little louder. "What's the matter with you? Why must you always assume something is wrong, that people are up to no good?"

Steve was a little taken back by Danny's accusations and felt the need to defend his actions.

"I don't always assume that, my gut was just telling me in this case that something was wrong."

"And what did you hear?" Danny asked with his hands.

"I could only hear one end of the conversation, but Matt sounded scared, he said something about knowing it's already been a week and he knows what's at stake and that he would meet up with them."

"And did you ask him about it once he was off the phone?"

"Yeah, he said that it was just a colleague asking about some business proposals."

"And let me guess, you didn't believe him?" Danny raised his eyebrows.

"No...Danny his hands were trembling when he came out."

"So what? His work can be really stressful, the business world is cut throat Steven, if he's late on some proposals of course he would be nervous!" Danny knew what he was saying sounded a little ridiculous but he just couldn't accept the fact that Matt was in more trouble.

"Danny..." Steve knew that Danny had a feeling something was wrong but was in denial.

"No, don't Danny me, this is your issue not mine, and not my brothers."

"Issue? What are you talking about? I don't have an issue with your brother."

"Not with Matt, with life! You always need to find something wrong; you can never just leave things as they are, never accept that things are good. It's like you constantly look for trouble so that you can somehow go in and clean it up like some hero."

Steve was used to Danny's outbursts but this one took him by surprise.

"You know what your problem is? You have a hero complex! You have to be everyone's hero, you need to find trouble where there is none so that you can swoop in and fix it."

Danny knew everything he was saying was wrong and unfounded but he couldn't stop himself.

"That's not tr..." Steve couldn't even finish his sentence as Danny interrupted.

"Or maybe, you can't accept that not all families are messed up like yours! Just because your family is full of lies and deceit doesn't mean that mine is. I get that it's been bothering you, that you can't figure out why your mom has been lying to you about Wo Fat so you're always on edge, but don't project that onto my family! Matt made a mistake once, that was it, he owned up to it and made up for it, he's not an idiot he knows better than to get mixed up in something bad again.

Danny knew how stupid his explanation sounded, not everyone learns their lesson the first time around. He also knew he had crossed the line attacking Steve's family. He regretted it the moment it left his mouth.

The look on Steve's face broke his heart. He knew how hard it was for Steve to open up about his family and he had told Danny things that he never told anyone else. He knew how hard the last year had been on Steve, with old wounds opening up and finding out he's been lied to his entire life. The secret his mother has been keeping from him about Wo Fat has slowly been tearing Steve apart, and no one knew that better than Danny.

Never in 4 years of knowing each other had Danny ever said anything about Steve's family, not even when they got in some of their most heated arguments, so he didn't know why he said it this time. Danny felt horrible.

"Steve...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sai..."

"It's fine Danny, I was probably wrong anyways." And just like that Steve closed off and ended their conversation.

Danny knew he messed up.

**TBC...**


	5. The Call

**Chapter 5**

Things had been a little strange between Steve and Danny since Danny lashed out at Steve in the car two days ago. They still rode together and worked cases but Danny noticed that Steve wasn't talking as much and he definitely wasn't joking around and poking fun at Danny like he normally would. Danny felt horrible, anytime he tried to apologize Steve would smile and say everything was fine, but Danny had mastered Steve's sincere smiles from his forced ones, and the ones Danny had been receiving for the last two days were definitely the latter kind.

This couldn't go on any longer, Danny hated the tension between the two of them, they weren't just partners they were best friends and Danny would be damned if he let his stupidity ruin their relationship. Next to Grace, Steve was the only other reason why Danny had learned to love this pineapple infested island so much. Steve was the type of friend that came along once in a lifetime, the type that made you want to be a better person, a better friend. Things had started off a little rocky for them but Steve quickly turned that around, and before he knew it Steve had become his best friend, his brother. So there was no way he was letting anything come between that, he was going to fix this, even if he was going to have to beg for forgiveness.

* * *

It was around 10pm when Steve heard his doorbell ring. He wasn't expecting anyone so he approached the door cautiously, knowing full well how ridiculous it was to have to answer your door cautiously at 10pm, but if his life had taught him anything it was that you could never be too careful.

He looked through the peephole, sighed, put his gun away, and opened the door.

"Surprise...I come bearing gifts," Danny smiled as he held up a pizza box and case of beer. "You going to let me in or make me stand out here forever?"

Steve moved to the side to let Danny in.

"I wasn't expecting you."

Danny walked over to the kitchen and placed the pizza and beer on the counter.

"Well you see Steve, usually when someone surprises somebody, they don't see it coming, kind of the whole point of a surprise." Danny smiled as he grabbed two plates from the cabinets.

"Right...what are you doing here Danny?"

If Steve was going to be perfectly honest with himself, he was still pretty hurt by what Danny had said to him in the car. He knew Danny was in denial and he knew that it hurt Danny to think that his brother was in trouble again, but that didn't excuse him for the things that he had said. Of all people, Danny was the last person he would have ever expected to throw his family situation in his face.

"Steve..." Danny needed to word this properly, he knew if he didn't patch things up with Steve tonight that it would be a while before they patched things up, and he couldn't wait awhile, he needed things to go back to normal now, he missed Steve.

"Look, I know I've apologized to you a million times, but I'm going to do it again and this time you're going to actually sit here and listen and not just say that it's okay, okay?"

Steve saw the sincerity and desperation in Danny's eyes and he couldn't find it in himself to deny Danny this.

"Okay." Steve grabbed a slice of pizza and sat down across Danny.

"I'm an idiot, no, actually I'm worse than an idiot, complete and utter moron. I can't apologize to you enough for what I said, throwing your family in your face like that, I hate myself for what I said to you. You're my best friend man, the fact that you come to me and tell me things that bother you and tell me things that hurt, it means a lot, and I never ever want to throw any of that stuff in your face. I don't know what came over me, I lashed out at you because I knew something was wrong with Matt too. Not that that's any excuse for what I said. I hate how things have been with us for the last two days, it's weird man, I miss you."

Danny knew that he sounded like a complete sap at the moment, but he didn't care, he needed Steve to know how sorry he was. If it was anyone else Danny wouldn't be trying this hard, but Steve meant a lot to him and he needed him to know that.

"I promise I will never, ever, ever throw any of that stuff in your face ever again," Danny looked at Steve with pleading eyes.

Steve smiled, how could he not forgive Danny after a speech like that. He knew how hard it was for Danny to have heart to hearts, so he knew how sorry Danny must be. It meant a lot that Danny would try this hard to apologize and make things good between them again.

"I forgive you Danno, and I'm not just saying that, I mean it. I know it was a one-time thing, I know you didn't mean to be hurtful. I think I forgave you after you apologized the next morning, but after everything you said it just reminded me of how messed up everything is right now with my mom, with Wo Fat and his family. I sometimes let myself forget about it and it always seems to creep up on me."

Steve took a swig of his beer, and cast his eyes downward.

"I'm sorry Steve, I didn't mean to open up those wounds again."

"I know Danno, we're good," Steve smiled at Danny.

"Yeah? You're not just saying that to get me to shutup?"

Steve let out a sincere laugh which made Danny laugh.

"No man, I promise we're good. Thanks for doing all this though, means a lot." Steve was never one to hold a grudge, he knew a sincere apology when he saw one and he knew how sorry Danny was.

Danny smiled.

"Don't get used to it okay, I don't plan on messing up like this again!"

Steve looked at Danny and laughed. He knew what happened in the car wouldn't happen again.

Danny ended up spending the night and sleeping on Steve's couch. The two had stayed up watching movies and Steve had filled Danny in on the most recent updates about Wo Fat's mother.

Things were back to normal, and Danny and Steve were thankful for that.

* * *

The next morning Danny headed home and Steve had to run some errands. Both of them had the weekend off as they had done some overtime the week before.

Steve was in the grocery store, pushing his cart down the freezer isle, when he heard his phone go off. Steve looked at the caller ID. Blocked number.

"Mcgarrett."

"_Steve...it's Matt"_

"Matty? What's going on, why are you whispering?" Steve's gut was telling him something was wrong.

_"Steve...I need your help, I don't know what to do, I didn't know who else to call, I don't want Danny to know, I don't want to disappoint him again, I just don't know what to do."_ Matt was speaking a mile a minute.

"Whoa whoa Matty, calm down. Tell me what's going on, where are you?" Steve pulled out a pen and paper, already headed out the store, his grocery cart left on the side of the freezer isle.

"_Steve, I'm really scared..."_

"I know you are buddy, where are you, I'll come get you." Steve hated how scared Matt sounded, his voice sounded like a child. His gut instinct had been right, Matt had somehow gotten in way over his head, again.

_"You have to promise not to tell Danny first, please Steve promise me, I couldn't bear it if Danny found out, promise me!" _Steve could hear the desperation in Matt's voice and as much as he hated to make a promise he knew he couldn't keep, he needed to, he needed to say what Matt needed to hear so Matt would tell him where he was.

"I promise Matt, I won't tell Danny, now where are you? Are you alone?"

"_I'm in some abandoned warehouse off a dirt road. Right before I turned off the dirt road I saw a sign that said Kalahana Road."_

"Good Matt, that's good, are you okay? Are you hurt?" A thousand thoughts were running through Steve's head. Should he call for back up, should he not. If Matt was alone and unharmed he knew he probably wouldn't need to get Chin and Kono involved just yet.

_"Yeah I'm okay, I'm alone, I just need to talk to you, this was the only place where they wouldn't find me"_

"Matt who's _they_?" Steve was growing more and more concerned by the minute.

_"I'll tell you everything when you get here, please just hurry."_ And just like that the call dropped.

"Matt! Matty! Steve was shouting into his phone.

_Shit._

As much as Matt had protested, Steve knew who his next phone call was going to be.

One ring, two rings...

"Come on Danno, pick up you phone," Steve was already in his car headed for Danny's.

Three rings, four rings...

"Hey Steve, whatsup?"

"I'm picking you up, I'll be there in 2 minutes." Steve was sure he was breaking all kinds of speed limits, but he didn't care, Danny's little brother was in trouble.

"Picking me up, what? Why? What's going on?" Danny's stomach was all knotted up, he didn't know why but he had a feeling it was about Matt.

"I'll explain to you in the car, I'm a minute away." And with that Steve hung up the phone.

Danny rushed to his room to grab his badge and gun and ran out the door into Steve's truck.

"What the hell's going on?" Danny asked as he jumped in.

"Matt called me," Steve pressed down on the accelerator as he backed out of Danny's driveway.

"He called you? What for? Please tell me he's okay?" The desperation in Danny's voice made Steve accelerate even more.

"I don't know Danny, he wasn't hurt or anything when he called but something's wrong, he's alone at an abandoned warehouse off a dirt road by Kalahana road, he sounded scared Danny, said he needed my help. Said it was the only place where _they_ wouldn't find him." Steve gave Danny a sympathetic look.

"Who the hell is they?" Danny's heart was racing.

"I know as much as you do Danny, he said he'll tell me everything when I get there."

"Jesus Matty, what did you get yourself into this time," Danny didn't realize he spoke out loud.

"Don't worry Danno, at least he's not in any immediate danger if he's alone and just wants to talk to me. At least he's asking for help right?" Steve gave Danny an assuring look, determined to get to the bottom of this and help Matt.

Danny wanted to believe Steve, he really did, but something in his gut was telling him that things weren't going to be okay, that something terrible was about to happen, if it hadn't already.

* * *

When they rolled up to the abandoned warehouse, Danny was the first to jump out of the truck. With each step he took, the dust circled around his shoes as he headed to the main entrance of the warehouse.

"Danny! Hey!" Steve whispered loudly. "We need to go in together, slowly, even if he thinks he's alone he may not be!" Steve needed Danny to work with him and not let his emotions get the better of him.

Danny knew Steve was right, they needed to stay in one piece in order to help Matty.

Steve and Danny entered the warehouse with their guns aimed ready to shoot. Something was definitely off about this, Matt was in trouble, they were sure of it.

"Danny check that room over there," Steve pointed to a small room on their right, Danny walked over and opened the door slowly.

"Clear", it was just a supply closet. He made his way back over to Steve.

The sun beaming through the highest window near the roof had cast an incredible ray of sunshine into the middle of the warehouse. There were old glass mirrors everywhere which illuminated the place as the sun bounced off each and every one. If they were here for any other reason but to get Matt, Steve would have found this abandoned building to be a thing of beauty.

As Danny and Steve wandered around the warehouse they finally heard footsteps coming from the main area of the warehouse. As they turned the corner they could see Matt standing there, his back to them. The minute he heard footsteps Matt turned around, seeing Danny there made his heart drop to his stomach. Danny wasn't supposed to be here.

Steve and Danny lowered their guns.

"Matty, what the hell's going on man, are you okay?" Danny asked as he walked up to his baby brother. The fear in Matt's eyes scared Danny, something was definitely wrong.

"Danny...what are you doing here," he immediately turned his gaze to Steve. "I told you not to tell him!" Matt was furious, scared and furious.

"I couldn't keep this from Danny, he's my partner and you're his family, he'd kill me if I didn't tell him," Steve spoke up. He hated betraying people's trust but in this particular case he knew it was for the right thing to do.

"Damnit," Matt hissed under his breath, but loud enough for Steve and Danny to hear.

Danny was growing increasingly alarmed at his baby brother's distressed manner.

"Matty, talk to me man, whatever it is we can fix it. Are you in trouble again?" Danny reached out and grabbed a hold of Matt's arm.

Just then the warehouse doors opened from behind Steve and Danny and as they saw the figure walk through the door their guns could not have gone up fast enough.

They stood there shocked, hearts beating a mile a minute. Danny looked over at Steve and saw Steve's stone cold face, he didn't twitch, he didn't waver, just staring straight ahead at the man before them. But Danny knew better, Danny knew everything that was going on inside Steve's head in that very moment. Every ounce of Danny wished that Steve wasn't here, wished that he was as far away from this warehouse as he could possibly be.

Danny turned his eyes back to the man he had learned to loathe on the same level he loathed Peterson, the man who had kidnapped Grace.

Wo Fat.

"He's not the one who's in trouble," Wo Fat had a maniacal grin on his face as 5 armed men entered the warehouse, guns drawn all pointing at Steve and Danny.

**TBC...**


	6. Left Behind

**Chapter 6**

"Wo Fat..." Steve spat out in disgust at the man, no...monster, standing before him.

"Commander, it's so good to see you again" Wo Fat was standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

Danny clinched his gun a little tighter and found himself moving closer to Steve as he got the sudden sense of need to protect Steve from this maniac, after everything that he had put Steve through, especially in North Korea.

It was then that Danny realized his baby brother was in the room too and instinctively grabbed Matt's arm and ushered him behind him and Steve.

Wo Fat scoffed as he saw Danny pushing Matt behind them.

"There really is no need to protect your brother Detective, he's not the one we're after, in fact, he's the one who helped us lure Commander McGarrett here," the smug grin on Wo Fat's face grew even wider.

For a second Danny stood shell-shocked, he couldn't have heard correctly.

Steve's eyes grew wide.

"What did you just say..." Danny didn't want to believe this, Wo Fat was definitely playing some sort of mind game with them.

"What's the matter detective, you don't believe me? Just turn around and ask him for yourself."

Danny spun around so fast Steve was sure he got whiplash. Steve followed suit and looked at Matt, he needed to know if he had walked into a trap...again.

The look of sheer guilt on Matt's face took Danny's breath away; his baby brother had set a trap for his partner.

The minute Steve saw Matt's guilty demeanor he knew Wo Fat's accusations were true. It all made sense now, why he didn't want Danny to know, why he was told to meet Matt in an abandoned warehouse...he was set up again, betrayed again...it was Jenna Kay all over again, except this time it was worse, it was the brother of his partner and his best friend.

Danny stole a glance at Steve and as they locked eyes for a brief second he could see the resignation in Steve's expression, the understanding of what had happened and the fore longing of what was about to happen. They were out-manned and out-gunned, in any other situation Steve could see a way out, but with Danny's brother there he knew he couldn't risk doing anything stupid. The pain in his eyes wouldn't be evident to anyone else, but Danny had mastered Steve's facial expressions and could read him like no one else could.

Danny snapped his eyes back to his brother.

"How could you, why would you do this Matt?" Danny's voice was cold and bitter, he couldn't even get himself to call his brother by the name he so fondly normally would.

Matt wanted to respond, he wanted to explain everything to Danny but he just couldn't find the words.

"I'll give you 5 million reasons why," Wo Fat signalled for one of his men as an armed man walked up to Matt and dropped 2 duffel bags at his feet. Danny looked down and he felt like someone had just punched him in the gut and knocked the wind right out of him. He knew what was in there, he knew exactly what his brother had traded for Steve and Danny lost it. He turned around and set his stone cold eyes on his brother.

"Money Matt...really...you set Steve up for Money!" Danny was flat out yelling now.

Matt looked at the ground trying to find his tongue, finally he did.

"Danny...I need this money, I owe this money to someone who's going to kill me if I don't pay up, I didn't have a cho..." Danny stopped Matt before he could finish that sentence.

"DON'T...Don't tell me that you didn't have a choice, don't tell me that your only choice was to hand my partner over to a ruthless killer. You could've come to me, hell you could've come to Steve, you could've done ANYTHING but this!" Danny stared daggers into his little brother. He had never been so furious in his life, and he had never felt so betrayed, he could only imagine the million thoughts going through Steve's mind right now.

As Danny looked at Steve he could see that Steve was having a stare down with Wo Fat who would not stop grinning. Steve looked ready to kill and to anyone else the stoic demeanor of the fearless 5-0 leader would've easily masked anything else he was feeling, but Danny could see all the other emotions behind those eyes. Steve would sacrifice anything to protect those he loved and their families, and it broke Danny's heart that people used that to their advantage and sacrificed Steve for their own personal gain.

Danny's thoughts were interrupted by Matt's voice.

"Danny wasn't part of this deal! You got what you wanted, fair trade, let us go."

Wo Fat smiled. "I'm a man of my word Mr. Williams, take your money and your brother and go, I have everything I need here," he smiled at Steve. Danny could feel Steve tense a little.

"I'm not going anywhere," Danny stood strong at Steve's side.

"Danny!" Steve and Matt said in unison.

It was Steve's turn to speak up.

"Danny go!"

"No Steven, you're not doing this alone, not again," Danny's mind went back to the jeep where they found Steven beaten and tied up.

"Danny, please man, just go" Steve pleaded, he had a good idea of what was going to happen to him and he couldn't stand the thought of Wo Fat torturing Danny, he wouldn't let it happen.

"I said no Steven!"

"THINK ABOUT GRACE!" Steve was getting desperate.

"I am thinking about Grace! She would be so upset if she knew I left you here, alone. And besides what kind of an example am I setting for my daughter if I tell her to abandon her friends, her family, when they need her."

Steve shook his head, Danny could always give Steve a run for his money when it came to being stubborn.

"Danny, please..." Steve pleaded, his voice cracking a bit. He hated to show vulnerability but he needed Danny to leave, he knew what Wo Fat was capable of and he'd die before he let Wo Fat touch Danny.

Danny ignored Steve's pleas and stood strong beside his partner. Steve could beg all he wanted, he wasn't leaving Steve.

"As much as I would enjoy watching Steve be tortured by the pain I would inflict on you Detective, having two of you was not in my plans, nor do I wish to have to worry about two people. Leave Detective or your brother takes a bullet to the brain right in front of you."

Danny couldn't react fast enough as one of Wo Fat's burly men grabbed his brother, put him in a choke hold and held a gun to his head.

Danny's mind started spinning in a million directions. As much as he couldn't stand the site of his brother right now, the thought of watching him take a bullet to the head made him sick to his stomach.

Steve instinctively leapt towards Matt but one of Wo Fat's men grabbed him before he could get any closer. Danny didn't miss this, no matter how badly someone betrays Steve, he'll always fight to save their life.

"It's up to you Detective, leave now and your brother gets to come with you, unharmed...stay and he dies."

Danny didn't know what to do he couldn't leave Steve but he couldn't let Matt die either, despite everything, he was still his baby brother. In that moment, he knew he had to choose between his little brother and his best friend.

He hated Matt for making him choose.

"Danny..." Steve grabbed a hold of Danny's arm and Danny's attention snapped to his partner. "You have to go man, I'm not going to have your brother's blood on my hands, and you would never forgive yourself if you let him get killed."

Danny knew Steve was right, he would never forgive himself, but how could he leave his best friend in the hands of the one person who has wanted to kill him for years.

Steve could see the plethora of emotions on Danny's face and he felt for him. If Steve was in his shoes and Mary and Danny were in danger, he didn't know what he would do.

"Danny go," Steve spoke softly.

Danny looked up at Steve and the utter despair in Danny's eyes made Steve feel sorry for Danny. It was his job now to say whatever he could to ease some of the pain he knew Danny was feeling.

"I'll be okay Danno, I'm like a cat, 9 lives," Steve smirked as he clasped Danny's shoulder.

"Pretty sure you've used all 9 already, you Neanderthal," Danny managed a small smile, and for a second the two partners were in their own world. Their moment was cut short when Wo Fat walked over and slammed the butt of his machine gun across Steve's face.

Steve collapsed to the ground before Danny had a chance to grab him.

As Steve tried to get back up, two of the men grabbed Steve by each shoulder and held him down so that he was now kneeling before Wo Fat.

Danny was held back by 2 of the other men as he launched himself at the guards holding Steve down.

"Last chance Detective," Wo Fat spoke up. "Take your brother and leave or I put a bullet through his head."

Danny knew he didn't have a choice, he knew if he didn't get Matt out of there it would haunt him for the rest of his life, but he also knew that if he left Steve to be Wo Fat's punching bag (at best) that he would never forgive himself.

"Danny go, it's not worth it, he'll kill Matt, you can't let that happen," Steve needed Danny to leave before Wo Fat changed his mind.

_Not worth it?_ There were so many things wrong with what Steve had just said and all he wanted to do was slap some sense into Steve. But he knew Steve was right about one thing, Wo Fat wouldn't hesitate to kill Matt.

With a sigh of resignation Danny spoke.

"Okay...", he locked eyes with Steve and he wanted to punch Steve for having a smile on his face. That feeling soon turned to fear as he realized that this may very well be the last time he sees his partner, and that thought scared him more than anything else. The only other time he remembered being this scared was when Grace was kidnapped.

Steve could see the pain in Danny's eyes and he felt for the man. As horrible of a predicament as he was in, being Wo Fat's prisoner, again, he didn't envy Danny right now. What Danny was feeling was 10 times worse than what he was feeling. Steve tried his best to reassure Danny.

"I'll see you soon Danno," he smiled but his smile was soon wiped away as Wo Fat walked over and slammed his boot into Steve's mid section. Steve doubled over in pain, trying to catch his breath.

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH", Danny lept at Wo-Fat only to be dragged back harshly by one of Wo Fat's men.

Danny was wreathing, he would find Wo Fat and put a bullet through his head if it was the last thing he did.

"m'okay Danny," Steve started to raise himself back onto his knees.

Danny just shook his head, nothing about this was okay.

"You have 1 minute to leave detective, starting now," Wo Fat looked at his watch.

Danny knew he meant it and started to make the painstaking walk away from Steve and towards Matt.

The burly man holding Matt threw him at Danny. Matt grabbed a hold of Danny's arm and started to drag him out of the warehouse. As Danny was leaving he turned around and locked eyes with Steve one last time.

_Don't give up Partner, I'll come for you_. A silent plea from Danny, he didn't know how and he didn't know when, but he was going to bring his partner back home, or die trying.

**TBC...**


	7. Confrontation

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your comments and reviews so far! You guys have been amazing, so much so that I decided to post the next chapter! I've had a few people ask me now when this story takes place in context with the show. This story is in present day time so after the Season 4 finale and really can happen any time in Season 5 which starts in September. Anywho, hope you guys enjoy the next chapter :)****  
**

**Chapter 7**

Every ounce of Danny wanted to turn around and walk back to Steve, each step he took towards the doors of the warehouse felt like a punch in the gut. Danny barely even noticed Matt dragging him outside, barely noticed the two armed guards who were standing right outside the doors waiting to escort them to their car, barely noticed that his own feet were even moving, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, until he heard Steve's screams from inside the warehouse.

Danny's entire body froze in horror, the sound of Steve's pain ringing in his ear, even after it had stopped. _What are they doing to him_. His heart had dropped down to his stomach.

Danny hadn't realized he stopped until he felt one of Wo Fat's men nudge him in the back with his machine gun.

"Try anything and you'll get a bullet in the head so fast, and then your brother's next." Wo Fat's goon shoved Danny a little harder towards the car.

But how could he walk away, how could he be a mere few metres away from Steve and not be able to help him, how could he let Wo Fat torture him.

"Danny c'mon, these guys will kill us if we don't go."

_That's how._

His brother, his stupid, idiotic, selfish, poor excuse for a man, brother.

Matt literally had to drag Danny all the way to the car as the two men stood a few feet behind with their guns aimed at the brothers. Matt was right, if they didn't leave now Wo Fat's men would shoot them right then and there, which would defeat the whole purpose of abandoning Steve in the first place. Cause that's what Danny had done, abandoned Steve to save Matt.

Next, Danny did the hardest thing he had to do, he got in his car and started driving away, away from Steve – his partner, his best friend.

Danny immediately pulled out his cell phone and called HPD. The few seconds it took for the dispatcher to pick up the phone felt like an eternity, finally someone answered.

"I need all available units at the abandoned warehouse off the dirt road off Kalahana road, Commander McGarrett of the Five-O task force is being held captive and tortured, hurry!" Danny's voice was in a panic.

Once he got the confirmation that HPD was on the way, he made the hard call to Chin and Kono.

"Hey Danny, what's going on?" Chin picked up.

"Chin, you and Kono need to get to the abandoned warehouse off the dirt road off Kalahana road, Wo Fat has Steve."

Danny knew that was all he had to say to get the cousins here in a heartbeat no questions asked.

"We're on our way Danny!"

Danny hung up the phone and pulled over to the side of the road. It would take HPD at least 10 minutes to get there and as much as he wanted to turn around and go back to that warehouse he knew he was out-manned and out-gunned. Him going back alone would only get himself and Steve killed, he needed back up. He knew this was going to be the longest 10 minutes of his life, and he prayed that by the time HPD came, Steve was still breathing.

Danny felt numb, he knew he was in shock and the only thing keeping him going was adrenaline. His hands were wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel that his knuckles were turning white, he closed his eyes tight as he clenched his teeth. Everything that had just happened in the warehouse was playing through his head, he kept replaying that moment where Wo Fat told them that Matt had lured Steve there.

Danny didn't notice Matt looking at him, he actually forgot that Matt was even in the car until...

"Danny... I need you to know how sorry I am"

_How sorry he is. How sorry he is?!_

Danny had a fuse, everyone knew it, and it usually only ever blew when a case involved a child. He now realized it blew when it involved his best friend as well.

Danny didn't want to open his mouth; he didn't want to look at Matt, not because he didn't have anything to say, but because he was worried about what he _would_ say. His hatred for his little brother was consuming every fiber of his being at the moment, and he really hoped Matt would get the hint and not say another word.

"Danny ple-"

"DON'T" Danny's voice was cold and angry.

"I know you're mad at me but – " Matt gets cut off mid sentence as Danny's head snaps towards him.

_If looks could kill..._

"Mad Matt...you think I'm mad...you think you know how I feel?" Danny's voice is chilling, Matt has never, ever, seen Danny like this, never heard Danny like this.

Matt wished he had kept his mouth shut.

"MAD DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN TO CUT IT!" Danny slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "YOU JUST WALKED MY PARTNER INTO A TRAP, YOU MADE ME LEAVE HIM THERE...ALONE...IN THE HANDS OF A KILLER, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HE WILL DO TO STEVE...DO YOU EVEN CARE!"

Danny felt like he could barely breathe, he had never been this angry in his life.

"Danny I didn't know..." Matt looked at the ground, _what had he done_.

"What did you just say?" Danny must have heard him wrong. "You didn't know what Matt? Huh? You didn't know that you were setting a trap for Steve? Cause it sure seems like you knew!"

"No...I mean...I just...I didn't know that he wanted Steve dead"

Danny's eyes went wide.

"What the hell did you think he wanted from Steve?" Be _very careful what you say here Matt._

Matt was scared to speak, he was scared to say another word to Danny, but he knew he had to explain himself.

"I just thought that...I don't know...maybe he wanted to talk to Steve privately," Matt knew how stupid that sounded, and the look on Danny's face told him that that was the wrong thing to say.

"Talk...talk," Danny let out a depressing laugh as he shook his head. "So let me get this straight, you thought that Wo Fat gave you $5 MILLION DOLLARS so that you could arrange a little meeting between him and Steve so that they could _talk_..."

Danny was livid, how dumb did Matt think he was.

"You expect me to believe that Matt? Huh? Do you honest to god think I am that STUPID to believe that? Don't you dare sit there and lie to my face. You _knew_ Wo Fat wanted more with Steve, you _knew_ and you didn't care as long as you got your money. That's why you told Steve to meet you there alone isn't it? So no one would find him, so _I_ wouldn't know where to even start looking for him? You would've just stood by and let me lose my mind trying to find him, wouldn't you?" Danny's voice had gone almost monotone.

Matt looked to his feet as he clasped his trembling hands together.

"WOULDN'T YOU!" Danny was losing control, he could feel it.

"Yeah..." A tear slipped down Matt's face.

Danny shook his head, trying to keep his own tears at bay.

"And all of this for money..." Danny started to deflate. His anger started to turn to heart break.

"You know what the saddest part about all this is, if you had just told Steve the truth, told him how badly you needed the money, he would've done anything, and I mean _anything_ to help you. He would've just called in his contacts, called anybody and everybody to make sure you were taken care of and your debts were paid, cause that's the kind of guy Steve is."

Danny just sat there and let that thought sink in. He had never in his life met anyone as selfless and generous as Steve. He thought back to when he and Steve first met and Steve paid for 3 nights at the Kahala hotel so that Danny could take grace there and she could swim with the Dolphins. He knew that day that Steve was special, that he wasn't like anyone that Danny had ever met before, and Steve had proved his capacity to love, and show love, over and over again. Sadly that same love was what people took advantage of, people like Jenny Kay, people like his brother.

Danny and Matt didn't speak for the remainder of the time they were waiting for HPD to arrive. Danny had nothing left to say to Matt and Matt was too scared to say anything more to Danny. He truly honestly was sorry and if he could do it over again he would've gone to Steve and Danny for help, but it was too late for that now, he had done what he had done and Steve was paying the price. He knew Danny was never going to forgive him for this, and in a way that was worse than the possibility of being killed for not paying his debts. But Danny didn't need to hear any of this right now, not that he would listen even if Matt wanted to tell him.

As soon as Danny saw the HPD cars approaching, he started his car up and led them straight to the warehouse.

HPD had brought in Grover and his team and as they approached the warehouse the SWAT team, along with HPD officers, Danny, Chin, and Kono, took their positions. Danny took a deep breath as he tried to prepare himself for what he might see once they breached those doors.

They followed Grover's signals and barged into the warehouse ready to take out anyone and everyone in their way.

As they made their way into the warehouse, Danny's heart sank...the warehouse was empty.

Steve was gone.

SWAT took the normal precautions and checked every door and room in the warehouse but Danny knew it was no use. Next to finding Steve dead, this was his biggest fear, that by the time he came with back up Wo Fat would have moved Steve somewhere else.

Seeing the distraught look on the young detective's face Grover walked over to Danny and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him Danny, we will!"

Danny said nothing back, just kept starring at the last place he saw Steve, kneeling before Wo Fat.

* * *

The ride back to headquarters was a blur for Danny, he couldn't remember who drove or how he even got there, he didn't even remember agreeing to go back to headquarters to figure out how this all happened in the first place.

As they walked into the precinct, Chin was the first to speak.

"How did this happen, what the hell was McGarrett even doing at that warehouse?" Chin closed the distance between him and Danny.

Danny couldn't find the words, how could he tell them what had happened to Steve, what Matt had done to Steve.

Matt could see that Danny was having a hard time coming up with the words, and to be quite honest he made this mess so he should be the one to tell them what he did. He knew they'd hate him too, and he deserved it.

"I messed up..."Matt looked at the cousins with tears in his eyes.

"Whoa, hey, Matt, what's going on, its okay you can talk to us," Kono walked up and placed a comforting hand on Matt's shoulder.

"Don't," Danny started. "Don't try to make him feel better, he doesn't deserve it."

Kono and Chin both locked eyes with Danny and the sheer pain they saw in those blue eyes took their breath away.

"Matt...what did you mean you messed up?" Kono moved her gaze to Matt.

Matt spent the next few minutes trying to explain everything to Kono and Chin.

By the end of it all Kono had tears in her eyes and Chin could barely speak. The thought of Steve being set up again was bad enough but Danny having to make the choice to leave Steve there, that was almost too much to bear.

"I know you all probably hate me, I deserve it...I am so so sorry, I'm never going to forgive myself for what I've done," Matt fell into a chair, he was completely wiped, emotionally and physically.

"Matt...how did Wo Fat even find you? How did the whole "money in exchange for Steve" start?" Chin had to know, he couldn't wrap his mind around any of this.

Matt took a deep breath.

"He just called me one day out of the blue. I was having a rough time, the guys who I owed money to were breathing down my neck, I was watching my back 24/7, I was sure I would be dead in a few days, and then I got the phone call." Matt looked up at Chin with desperation in his eyes. "It was a blocked number and he just said that he used to know Danny and Steve and that he knew about my current situation. He said that if I arranged a meeting with him and Steve without Steve knowing that he would give me $5 million cash."

"And you believed him when he said he just wanted to have a meeting with Steve? You must've known that he wanted more than that," Chin's voice began to raise.

"He knew," Danny's cold voice was back as he was starring daggers at his little brother. "He just didn't care."

"I thought that Steve would be okay, that he would find a way out of it. Danny's always talking about how invincible Steve seems and all the stories I've ever heard about him told me that he could get himself out of any situation."

"You son of a bitch," Danny jumped at Matt only to be held back by Chin. "He was ambushed Matt! You walked him straight into a trap, he was outnumbered 5 to 1, no one, not even Steve, can walk away from that!"

"I know...I was desperate, I needed the money and I thought if anyone could get out of a trap it was Steve...I'm so sorry Danny," Matt looked pleadingly at his older brother.

Danny couldn't stand to look at Matt any longer. He was sure if he spent another minute with him he would beat him to a pulp.

Danny stormed off into his office, slamming the door behind him.

Kono ran after him and Chin stayed with Matt.

"Danny...I can't even imagine what you're going through right now...I'm so sorry," Kono walked over and hugged Danny.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, this is all Matt's fault," Danny returned Kono's hug but felt like he could barely move his arms.

"I don't even know what to say right now, I can't believe this is happening...again," Kono let a tear fall as she leaned against Danny's desk.

"I just don't get it," Danny leaned next to Kono and shook his head.

"Get what?"

"Why everyone thinks its okay to use his life as a bargaining chip," Danny choked up. "He's the best person I know...it's not fair."

It broke Kono's heart to hear how deflated and vulnerable Danny sounded. She could only imagine what Danny went through, having to leave Steve behind in the hands of Wo Fat. They were all family but Danny and Steve were especially close, always had been. There was a special bond between the two of them that no one could describe. It was the kind of bond that was rare, a bond that formed the kind of friendship that everyone wishes they had, but very few are able to attain.

Kono knew this was tearing Danny apart, and the worst part was that it was his own brother who betrayed them. She knew that nothing she could say or do would make Danny feel better, nothing in the world would make Danny feel better right now besides having Steve beside him safe and sound, but she had to say something.

"Danny, we're going to find him, it's Steve, he survived North Korea, he'll survive this."

Danny wanted to believe that, he wanted to believe that Steve would be back with them soon enough, but Danny couldn't bear to look up at Kono, he didn't want her to see the negativity in his eyes, the doubt, the fear. How many times can a person be set up and tortured and make it out whole and okay?

"He has to," was all Danny could manage to say as he emotionally shut down.

**TBC...**


	8. The Meltdown

**Wow, you guys have been amazing, thank you so much for the love! Sorry this chapter took a few days, been a little busy! Hope it was worth the wait :). ****  
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**Chapter 8**

The smell of mold and rusted wood was the first thing that greeted him as he made his way back to the land of the conscious. He had no idea how long he had been out for or where he was. The room was pitch black, the only light coming in was through a small boarded up window in the far corner. From the looks of it, Steve could tell that he was in a basement of some sort, maybe a cellar.

As his eyes adjusted he tried to find anything significant that could give him any clue as to where he was.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The room was practically empty, except for a table and a chair.

His head hurt, his body ached, and his arms were killing. His hands were tied above his head, chained to the pillars above him, reminiscent of the way he was tied up in North Korea. Steve looked up to his hands and noticed how swollen and cut up his wrists were, and even the slightest arm movements sent waves of pain shooting down his arm.

_How the hell did this happen again._ Steve was mentally kicking himself for not knowing that something was going on. If it were anybody else telling him to meet him at an abandoned warehouse alone, he would've known that something didn't add up, but because it was Danny's little brother Steve ignored all sense and logic.

Steve was trying to wrap his mind around everything that had happened at the warehouse. Never in a million years would Steve have thought that Matt was working with Wo Fat. _How did the two even meet?_

Just then Steve remembered the phone call that he overheard between Matt and who he was pretty sure now to be Wo Fat, _"I know it's been a week. No of course I'm not backing out, I know what's at stake. No please, don't, look I promise we'll be there."_

$5 million dollars was at stake and Steve finally realized that the "we" Matt was talking about was him.

Steve shook his head, how could he let himself be captured again. If Steve was honest with himself, the betrayal hurt like hell. It hurt when Jenny Kay did it and this time around it hurt even more, seeing as it was by the hands of his best friend and partner's little brother.

Steve's thoughts were interrupted as he heard the door opening from behind him. His back was to the door so he couldn't see who it was, but he had a good idea.

"Commander, I told you I would see you again soon," Wo Fat circled around until he was face to face with Steve.

Steve remembered Lou's daughter running into 5-0 headquarters after she had been freed by Wo Fat, and delivering that message.

Steve's attention was drawn downwards towards Wo Fat's hands where he saw something very familiar. The cattle prod. Steve remembered exactly how it felt in North Korea and knew he was about to find out how it felt again.

"Where's Doris?"

Steve stood up a little straighter. He had a feeling that Wo Fat was going to ask him that. It only seemed logical as the last time they were in North Korea Wo Fat was looking for Shelbourne, which turned out to be Steve's mother.

"Go to hell," Steve spat out. He knew it wasn't the smartest thing to say but he let his emotions get the better of him.

Wo Fat Smirked and pushed the cattle prod against Steve's abdomen. Steve screamed in agony as shock waves were sent through his entire body.

"Let's try that again...where is Doris" Wo Fat wanted to know one thing and one thing only.

"I don't know." Steve was breathing a little heavier now. He really didn't know, he hadn't seen his mother in months, but he knew that Wo Fat wouldn't believe him.

"You're lying!"

Steve screamed out as the cattle prod once again made contact with his flesh. Wo Fat held it there for a few seconds longer, hoping that Steve would crack.

"Where is your mother!"

"I...don't...know" Steve was breathing hard, the electric shocks being sent through his body were making it hard to breathe.

Wo Fat dropped the cattle prod and started walking towards the door.

Just as Steve thought that Wo Fat was done torturing him, at least for now, five of Wo Fat's men walked into the room. Steve's heart sank a little as he saw what they had in their hands.

Two of the men had bats, two were wearing brass knuckles, and one had the cattle prod.

Wo Fat closed the door behind him and smiled as Steve's screams echoed through the halls.

* * *

It had been two days since Steve had gone missing and everyone still seemed to be running on adrenaline, especially Danny. He was in the zone; he didn't seem the least bit tired, just determined and angry. After spending countless hours going through old case files on Wo Fat and his family, as well as files that Jo had dropped off, they had figured out a few locations where Wo Fat could have possibly taken Steve. They had a good idea that Steve was still on the island as all air transportation was being closely monitored, after the Governor specifically requested it himself after hearing about Steve.

It was around noon when they received all the search warrants for each of the locations on their list. Everyone was hopeful that one of these locations could be it.

Danny, Chin, Kono, and Lou and his team searched each of the locations one by one, thoroughly going through each room.

One by one, the locations turned up nothing.

By 10pm all the locations on their list had been searched and Chin, Kono, and Danny made their way back to headquarters.

They were all tired, frustrated and disheartened by the turn of events. They had be so hopeful a few hours ago and now they were back to square one; they weren't any closer to finding Steve.

Danny walked over to the desk with all the files, he gripped the table hard and closed his eyes as he tried to keep his anger, frustration, and fear at bay, however the more he tried the more frustrated he became.

It had been two days and they had no idea where Steve was. Danny stared at the files in front of him, the files that had led them nowhere, turned up nothing, and within seconds his anger and frustration consumed him. Danny threw all of the files on the floor in fit of rage.

"DAMNIT STEVE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!"

Danny's hands were shaking as the papers went flying everywhere.

"Danny..." Kono slowly approached Danny. Her and Chin had been worried about Danny. He had been oddly calm and focused the last two days and although it had been great in order to work on this case, they had been worried that Danny was burying his feelings in his work. Besides their talk in Danny's office when he had stormed out on Matt, Kono hadn't seen any other emotion out of Danny; his behaviour and mannerism were almost robotic, until now.

"We're going to find him Danny," Kono didn't know if she believed that herself but she had to say something to Danny.

"How?! How the hell are we going to find him, WE HAVE NOTHING!" He didn't mean to yell at Kono but he couldn't hold anything in anymore. "We have no clues as to where Steve is, not a single one, and the longer we take..." Danny trailed off as he couldn't finish that sentence. The thought of never finding Steve was unbearable.

Danny was gripping onto the table as if it was the only thing holding him up right now.

"Danny, you need to go home brah, you haven't left the office since it happened. You need some sleep," Chin was concerned, as un-tired as Danny may seem he knew that sooner or later Danny was going to crash and burn, no one can run on adrenaline for long.

"I'll sleep when we find Steve," was Danny's response as he starred at the ground.

"Danny, you're no good to us like this. You need to be sharp! Kono and I have both gone and slept, it's your turn."

"I have slept."

"Sleeping on the couch here for an hour doesn't count as sleeping Danny."

Danny sighed. He knew what Chin was saying was true, he had even noticed minor slip ups over the past two days, and he knew some of them were due to a lack of sleep.

Truth be told, the reason why Danny hadn't gone home to sleep was simply because he didn't want to close his eyes. Every time he closed his eyes he would relive the events at the warehouse and it broke his heart. It was bad enough that Steve's screams were etched in Danny's brain, but to see the events happening over and over in his head was too painful, so Danny stayed awake. But Danny knew that Chin was right, he needed to go home, and at this point he was probably doing more harm than good being here.

"Fine, but I'll be back in a few hours,"

"We'll be here Danny, and if we find anything we'll be sure to call you right away."

Danny nodded at Chin, grabbed his stuff, and headed for his car.

Kono looked over at Chin with tears in her eyes. "What's going to happen to him if we don't find Steve?"

"We're not going to have to find out cuz, we'll find Steve," Chin placed a reassuring hand on Kono's shoulder.

* * *

Every bone in Steve's body ached. He knew he had a few broken ribs, he felt it the instant those bats connected with his mid section. His face was swollen and his left eye was completely shut from the bruising that resulted from the brass knuckles Wo Fat's men were wearing. His feet were bloody from dragging on the floor and his head was pounding. Although Steve was sure that every inch of his body was covered in bruises, the ones that hurt the most were his wrists. The chains had dug into his skin hours ago and every sudden movement just dug the chains deeper and deeper into the now open flesh wounds. He knew the chains had to be rusty and was worried that the wounds would get infected soon, the last thing he needed right now was to go into septic shock.

This was definitely worse than North Korea.

Steve was trapped, he had no way out, there was no Jenna Kay this time to give him a pin, and he knew the only way out of here was if Danny, Chin, and Kono found him.

_Danny._

As bad as Steve's predicament was, he could only imagine what Danny was going through right now. He hoped that Danny was so concentrated on finding him that he didn't have time to really dwell on what had happened. He would never wish that kind of gut wrenching torment on his worst enemy (okay, except for maybe Wo Fat), let alone his best friend. Steve had been on the other side of situations like this before. The guilt, the questions, the heartache, he would do anything to take that all away from Danny. He knew that if he didn't make it out of this alive he was going to take a little piece of Danny with him, and that scared him more than the thought of dying.

Steve's thoughts were once again interrupted by the jarring of the door behind him.

"Commander...are you ready to talk yet?" Wo Fat came and stood in front of Steve.

"No matter how many times you ask me it's not going to change my answer, I don't know where Doris is, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," Steve looked defiantly at Wo Fat.

Steve knew that it really didn't matter what he said at this point. Doris had killed Wo Fat's mother and Wo Fat was out for revenge. Even if Steve knew where Doris was and told Wo Fat, Wo Fat wouldn't change a thing, he would torture Steve until he was dead as an act of retribution and to pay Doris back for taking his mother from him. In Steve's current condition he knew his only chance of escaping was if Danny and the team found him. Steve hated feeling so helpless.

Wo Fat just stood there staring at Steve.

"I know what she did, I know what happened to your mother."

For the first time ever, Steve saw emotion in Wo Fat's eyes, he saw a son who had lost his mother at a young age, it was the first time Steve saw the human side of Wo Fat, even if it was short lived.

Within seconds Wo Fat's eyes turned cold again, all emotion wiped away.

The first punch to Steve's broken ribs felt like a knife stabbing him. The next 10 or 20 that followed felt like hammers. Steve was sure that one of the broken ribs had punctured a lung as it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

Wo Fat left the room and was back within seconds with a whip in his hand.

Steve was still trying to catch his breath but the time Wo Fat walked back in. He saw the whip in Wo Fat's hands and braced himself for what he knew was about to happen.

The first lash to his back hurt like hell but Steve managed to not make a sound, he didn't want to give Wo Fat any more satisfaction. By the fifth slash Steve was physically shaking, his back felt like it was literally on fire. By the tenth he was screaming. By the twentieth he was unconscious, his mind completely shutting out the pain sending him into sweet oblivion.

* * *

Right as Danny walked through the doors, Grace came running out of her room.

"Danno!" She jumped up and gave him a hug.

"Hi Monkey," Danny wrapped his arms around his little girl and kissed her on the cheek.

Amber walked out of the bathroom two seconds later.

"Hey," she walked up to Danny and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Hi," he wrapped his arms around her.

"Danno, how come Uncle Matt is staying in a hotel now?"

Grace's question completely took Danny by surprise and Danny felt the anger burning inside him again at the thought of his brother. He didn't even know that Matt had packed up his stuff and gone to a hotel, although he wasn't surprised, Danny hated Matt right now and Matt knew that. The last thing Danny would want to see when he came home was Matt's face. Danny hadn't even had time to think about Matt or what to do with him; he was so concentrated on finding Steve that he had decided to deal with Matt later. He had however told Matt not to leave Hawaii or he would make it his personal mission to track him down and put him behind bars, and he could tell by the look on Matt's face that he wasn't going anywhere.

Amber could see that Danny was at a loss for words so she jumped in.

"I think Uncle Matt just wanted to give your dad some space to find your Uncle Steve," she smiled at Grace. "Grace why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll come in and read you a story," Amber said as she stroked Grace's hair.

"Okay Amber," Grace smiled as she looked up at Amber. "I'm glad you came home Danno." Grace gave Danny one more hug then headed for the washroom.

Danny took Amber's hand.

"Thank you...I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here to take care of Grace," he smiled appreciatively.

"You don't need to thank me Jersey, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," she kissed Danny on the cheek.

"How are you doing?" Danny could hear the concern in her voice and as much as he wanted to lie and say he was fine, he was too tired. Besides, he knew she wouldn't believe it, so he decided to go with the truth.

"Not so good...we have no idea where Steve is...it's been two days Amber..." Danny sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"Don't give up hope Danny, I know I don't know Steve very well but from everything you and Grace have told me, he's a fighter and he won't go down easily."

Danny knew she was right but as every hour passed it was getting harder and harder to stay positive.

Danny and Amber talked for a few minutes before Amber went into the kitchen to make Danny a sandwich. Sleep wasn't the only thing Danny had been deprived of the last few days, he was barely eating.

When Amber came back into the living room she saw Danny passed out on the couch. She smiled sadly. She knew the toll this was taking on Danny, she had never seen two friends as close and Steve and Danny, she couldn't even imagine what he was going through.

Amber walked over to the couch and placed the sandwich on the table in front of him so that when Danny woke up he would have something to eat. She then took the blanket from behind the couch and draped it over Danny. As much as she wanted him to sleep in a proper bed, she knew that he probably hadn't been sleeping and she didn't want to wake him in fear that he may not go back to sleep.

...

_Danny's back at the warehouse, he can see Steve tied up, beaten to a pulp. He hears Steve's screams as the onslaught of punches and kicks continue to bruise his already battered body. Before Danny knows it he's running as fast as he can towards Steve, but he can't close the distance between the two of them. No matter how fast he runs Steve is always 10 feet in front of him. Steve's screams are getting louder and louder and then they stop. Wo Fat's goons disappear from the room and Steve and Danny are the only two left. Danny starts to walk towards Steve and when he realizes that he's actually getting closer he starts to run. When he finally reaches Steve he kneels down, finally face to face with Steve who is tied to a chair. He lifts Steve's face up and doesn't even realize the man. His face is so bruised and broken that it doesn't even look like Steve anymore. Danny's shaky hands move up to Steve's neck to search for a pulse. Nothing. Steve's dead._

Danny's entire body jerked awake. He looked over at the clock, 1am. This is why he didn't sleep, the nightmare he just had was something he never wanted to see. He put his face into his shaky hands and shuttered at the images he just saw.

Danny is so shaken by his nightmare that he doesn't even notice Grace coming up beside him.

"Danno...are you okay," her voice shakes him out of his daze.

"Monkey, what are you doing up," he picks her up and places her on his lap.

"I heard you scream Danno, I wanted to make sure you were okay"

_Damnit. _

The last thing Danny wanted was to show weakness in front of Grace.

"I'm okay baby," Danny gave a sad smile, but Grace could see right through it.

"Are you sad Danno, because Uncle Steve is missing," her question was laced with so much worry that it tore at his heart.

"Yea monkey, I'm sad," he gave her a soft smile and looked at the ground. There was no point lying to Grace, Danny knew he wore his emotions on his sleeve, and his little girl always knew when something was wrong.

"It's okay to be sad Danno but you don't have to worry, Uncle Steve is the strongest, bravest, fastest person I know...besides you of course...he'll be okay," she smiled as she looked into Danny's eyes.

Danny looked at his little girl and his heart ached. Grace had so much pure innocence in her, he worried that life would strip her of that one day, the world was a scary place filled with people like Wo Fat. He also worried about Grace if they didn't find her Uncle Steve. Steve was practically a second father to Grace and Danny knew how much Graced loved him, she would never be the same if she lost him, none of them would.

"I hope so monkey," Danny was trying his best to stay positive in front of Grace, he didn't want her to worry about her Uncle Steve.

"I know so!" Grace said smiling. "Do you know how I know?"

Danny smiled, "How monkey?"

"Because Uncle Steve has you Danno. You always find him, like you did in Afghanistan and North Korea! You're like a superhero Danno, if anyone can find Uncle Steve it's you," Grace smiled as she hugged Danny.

Grace was always the inquisitive one. Anytime Danny was gone for more than a day she had to know all the details, why he was going, where he was going, and when he returned from those trips she had the next set of 20 questions all lined up, which is how she knew about Afghanistan and North Korea.

Danny's eyes filled with tears.

"Monkey, it's time for you to go back to bed okay," Danny choked out.

Danny just wanted to sit there and hold Grace all night but after what Grace had just said, he felt his heart tightening and his breathing was becoming rapid. This had only happened two other times in his life, during his divorce and when his partner Grace was killed.

"Okay Danno, I love you."

"I love you too monkey, so much."

Grace gave Danny a kiss and headed to bed.

Once Grace's door was closed, Danny walked into the bathroom and locked the door. He leaned heavily on the door as he sunk to the bottom and wrapped his arms around his knees. He couldn't hold it in anymore as he broke down and began to cry.

It was the gut-wrenching type of cry, everything from the past few days finally surfaced and Danny couldn't control it. His entire body was shaking and he was breathing rapidly.

Matt's betrayal, Steve's pained screams and the thought of him being tortured, their unsuccessful searches of the houses, the lack of clues to Steve's whereabouts, Grace's words. All of it was consuming him and he felt like the room was closing in on him.

Danny was a mess, he had never cried this much in his life, and one thought kept repeating itself in his mind – he couldn't lose Steve. They had to find him, _he_ had to find him, because not only was a world without Steve one he wouldn't _want_ to live in, it was also one he knew he _couldn't_ live in.

**TBC...**


	9. Second Wind

**You guys are seriously the best, I thoroughly love reading all the comments and reviews :) Here's the next chapter...enjoy :)**

**Chapter 9**

Danny opened his eyes to a room filled with sunlight. He looked over at the clock, 9:24 am. For a brief second he thought that everything that had happened with Steve, Matt and Wo Fat was just a terrible nightmare, until he realized he was sleeping on the couch.

It all came crashing back, the onslaught of memories from the last few days. He remembered his talk with Grace and he vaguely remembered walking back to the couch after having a complete and utter meltdown in the bathroom.

Danny had to admit, physically he felt a little better, finally getting some sleep without any nightmares, and mentally he found his second wind after everything that Grace had said to him when they spoke last night.

_Uncle Steve is the strongest, bravest, fastest person I know. _

_Uncle Steve has you Danno. You always find him, like you did in Afghanistan and North Korea! You're like a superhero Danno, if anyone can find Uncle Steve it's you._

Grace was right; Steve was strong, mentally and physically. And Danny had found Steve both those times, granted he knew where Steve most likely was which made the rescue a lot easier. But Danny wasn't going to give up, he would find Steve, he was sure of it now. His meltdown a few hours ago was exactly what he needed to clear his mind and get him focussed at the task at hand, finding his partner!

As Danny got up to go and shower he saw a note on the table in front of him.

_Danny,_

_I took Grace to run some errands with me so that you could sleep. We made pancakes for you, they're on top of the stove covered by a plate. Please eat them before you head back to the office._

_Grace also wanted me to remind you that she loves you and I quote "You're going to find Uncle Steve Danno, I just know it!"_

_Be careful Jersey._

_Love, Amber_

Danny smiled, Amber was amazing, the fact that Danny didn't have to worry about Grace was a huge relief, it allowed him to concentrate all his time on the case.

Danny shook his head at that thought. _Steve was a case. _It was so wrong.

Danny showered, changed, ate the pancakes that Amber and Grace had made for him, and headed out the door.

Danny's first call was to Kono and Chin, letting them know that he'll be in soon, that he was just going to look into something first.

His second call was one he didn't want to make but knew he had to, just in case.

"Danny..." Matt's voice is soft like he's expecting it to be someone else.

"Where are you, we need to talk," Danny got straight to the point.

"I'm at the Kaiulani, room 255, I was actually just about to leave, I have to..."

"I don't care what you have to do," Danny interrupted. "I'll be there in 10," and with that Danny hung up the phone.

The last person on the planet he wanted to see right now was his brother, but he needed to see if he might have any idea as to where Wo Fat would take Steve, maybe Wo Fat had slipped up during one of their 8pm phone calls.

_8pm phone calls._

Danny shook his head. He remembered the things he had said to Steve that day in the car when he had brought up those phone calls with Danny. Although they had made up and Steve had forgiven him, Danny still felt incredibly guilty, especially after everything Steve said was true. Maybe if he had just listened to Steve instead of attacking him, none of this would have happened. He could've gone and spoken to Matt that night and maybe Matt would have told Danny everything, and Steve would be safe right now.

"_Not now Danny, bottle that guilt up for later, you have a job to do now!"_

* * *

Danny found himself standing in front of room 255, preparing himself mentally.

"_Do not knock him out, no matter how badly you want to," Danny kept telling himself over and over._

Matt opened the door instantly when he heard Danny knocking.

"Hey Danny"

Danny brushed past Matt into the room. Matt lowered his gaze to the ground. He closed the door and turned around and decided to try again.

"How are you?"

_How are you...how are you?! Do not knock him out, do not knock him out._

"How the hell do you think I am...don't answer that, I don't care. Sit down." Danny pointed at the couch he was now standing in front of.

"What's going on? Do you know where Steve is yet?"

Danny gave Matt a death stare.

"Trust me, if I knew where Steve was, your hotel room is the last place on earth I'd be."

Matt bit his lower lip and turned his gaze to the ground. Danny really hated him.

"When you were working with Wo Fat..." Danny cringed at the thought; he still couldn't wrap his mind around his baby brother working with that psychotic killer. "When you were working with Wo Fat, did you ever hear anything from him or any of his men as to where they might take Steve?"

"Uhh..." Matt looked at the ground as he tried to think of all of his encounters with Wo Fat, either in person or on the phone.

"Think really hard Matt; is there anything that sticks out, a name of a building, or somewhere that they always go, any place where they could keep someone without being seen?"

Matt really wished he could help but his mind was drawing a complete blank. They hadn't really spoken much in front of him, just details about capturing Steve.

"I'm sorry Danny, they never really spoke much in front of me unless it was about the warehouse and me ..." Matt couldn't finish that sentence.

"And you brining Steve there..." Danny voice turned cold again.

Danny stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Call me if you remember anything."

"Wait," Matt jumped off the couch and headed towards the door. "You're leaving?"

Danny looked at his brother incredulously.

"I didn't come here for some brotherly chit chat, I came here to see if you knew where that psychotic maniac took my partner who _you_..." Danny poked his finger into Matt's chest. "...setup."

Matt shrunk in on himself a little at the look on Danny's face. Danny took his finger off of Matt and opened the door.

Danny briefly stopped at the doorway.

"And Matt,"

Matt's took his eyes off the ground.

"Yeah?"

Danny turned around and looked Matt straight in the eye with conviction.

"You better _pray_ that I find Steve alive."

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat as the "_or else"_ just lingered in the room. He knew that if they didn't find Steve, he was going to be dead to Danny, if he wasn't already, but he also knew that even if they did find Steve alive, him and Danny were never going to be brothers again.

* * *

Danny walked through the doors of 5-0 headquarters as Chin and Kono were standing over some files.

"Hey brah," Chin smiled at Danny as he walked towards them.

"You look like you finally got some sleep Danny," Kono smiled, she could see a slight change in Danny from yesterday, he didn't seem as defeated.

"Yeah, I definitely needed it," he said as he smiled back at the cousins. "So I went and spoke to Matt, see if maybe Wo Fat or one of his guys mentioned anything that could give a hint as to where they would take Steve, but it was no use, he didn't know anything. Did you guys find anything while I was gone?"

"As a matter of fact we did. We found some old contacts of Wo Fat's who may know some potential places where he would take Steve," Kono chimed up with a smile.

"What makes you think they'll talk?" From Danny's experience, everyone close to Wo Fat never spoke, either out of loyalty or fear of retribution.

"Let's just say Wo Fat isn't exactly their favourite person anymore, a botched job here a sell out there, they have their reasons for hating Wo Fat and would like nothing more than to see him dead or in prison," Chin smiled as he handed the files over to Danny.

Danny skimmed through the files. It wasn't a guarantee but anything was better than nothing at this point.

"Where we going first?"

"There's a family owned restaurant about 30 minutes from here, the owner, Mr. Hamatchi, is a former associate of Wo Fat's. In the file it said that Mr. Hamatchi's son was arrested during one of Wo Fat's missions and Wo Fat threw him under the bus, placing all the blame on the kid. The kids been in prison for 2 years and 5 more to go."

Danny shook his head.

"Ouch...well what are we waiting for, let's go talk to Mr. Hamatchi," Danny grabbed his keys as Chin and Kono followed suit.

Mr. Hamatchi was hesitant at first to let the trio enter his house but once they explained the situation to him, that they wanted to capture Wo Fat, he was more than pleased to let them in.

"Wo Fat spoke of Commander McGarrett quite a lot, he was obsessed with the man, his every thought was of the McGarrett family, it consumed him," Mr. Himatchi looked at Danny.

This didn't come as a shock to Danny, Steve's mother had killed Wo Fat's mother, he was out for revenge and would stop at nothing to get it.

"Mr. Himatchi – "

"Please, call me Mike. Mr. Himatchi is my father," Mike smiled at Chin.

"Mike – " Chin started again. "Is there any place you can think of where Wo Fat may have taken Commander McGarrett? We think they're still on the island but we don't know where to start looking."

Mike looked at the ground and squinted his eyes as if he was in deep thought.

"There's a warehouse up on Kalahana road that – "

Danny stopped him before he could continue.

"That's where Steve was lured, they're not there anymore. Anywhere else?" Danny was praying that the warehouse wasn't the only place Mike could think of.

"The only other place I could think of is one of Wo Fat's old houses. It's about a 45 minute drive from here up past Kalami Road, you can't really miss it, it's the only house there. No one knew that his family owned it, it was bought under the table and used as a house to base drug operations out of. Other than that I can't think of anywhere else."

"_One place is better than no place," Danny thought to himself._

"Thank you Mike," Chin, Danny and Kono all stood up.

"If you remember anything else, please give us a call," Chin handed Mike one of his cards.

"I will Lieutenant Kelly, and Detective Williams..."

Danny turned around.

"Put a bullet in that son of a bitch for me."

Danny smiled. This was the only thing him and an ex-associate of Wo Fat would ever have in common.

"Gladly."

And with that the trio headed back to the car. They still had a few other ex-associates of Wo Fat's to visit before they went to check out any of the locations.

* * *

Steve was finding it increasingly difficult to stay conscious. His body was so badly battered that he knew the only think keeping him upright were the chains that were tied around his wrists.

It was getting harder and harder to concentrate or think straight, he hoped that Danny and his team would find him soon because he didn't know how much more of this he could take.

Steve heard the door opening from behind him and his heart sank. He didn't know what Wo Fat was going to do next, but he knew whatever it was, it was going to be worse than before, each torture session seemed to be getting progressively worse.

"Where is Doris?"

Steve could barely make out Wo Fat's figure in front of him because his eyes were so badly swollen from the previous attacks.

"I d-don't know," Steve's voice was barely audible at this point. It was the same question over and over again and Steve knew giving the same answer was only going to result in more torture.

Steve saw Wo Fat reach into his back pocket and pull something out but he couldn't see what it was.

He heard a chair being pulled up beside him and could see Wo Fat climbing on top of it.

Before he knew it, Steve felt a needle go into his forearm.

_Shit._

Wo Fat got down from the chair and stood in front of Steve once again.

"I just injected you with a very _very _high dose of Mescaline, not enough to kill you but enough to make you go a little crazy...enjoy Commander," and with that Wo Fat left the room.

Steve knew exactly was Mescaline would do to a person, especially in high doses; this was going to be bad.

Within an hour Steve started to feel the effects of the drug, his heart was racing so fast he thought it was going to come out of his chest, he was dizzy and nauseous and sweating profusely.

He heard the door open again and knew Wo Fat was coming back to relish in the pain he had injected into Steve, literally.

His eyes were cast downwards so Wo Fat's shoes were the first thing he saw...except they weren't Wo Fat's shoes...they looked like...

_No...it can't be..._

Steve struggled to lift his head but he had to know, he had to see his face.

"Danny..."

Wo Fat smiled as he stood in front of Steve...this was better than he could have hoped for.

**TBC...**


	10. Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours

**I can't say it enough, you guys are absolutely amazing! I couldn't keep you guys waiting for long! Here's the next chapter :).**

**Chapter 10**

He couldn't believe that Danny had found him, I mean he could cause it was Danny and Danny always managed to find him, but he was starting to think that he would die in this basement alone, so to see Danny standing in front of him...he couldn't even put into words how he felt.

"D-anny...you found me," Steve smiled, well tried to smile, all the bruising on his face made it difficult.

Wo Fat stood there smiling, he knew the drug could cause hallucinations but for Steve to think that he was Danny, this was better than he could have ever imagined. Wo Fat stood there for a second thinking of what to say to cause Steve the maximum amount of pain.

"Yes I found you."

"How? How d-id you k-now to look here?" It was hard for Steve to speak, his entire body hurt when he tried, but he had to, he had been hoping for this day for what felt like forever and now that it was here he just wanted to talk to his partner, wanted to hear Danny tell him that everything was going to be okay, that he was safe.

"Wo Fat told me..."

Steve froze. He couldn't have heard correctly.

"W-hat...w-hy would he," it was getting harder for Steve to breathe again. "Why w-ould he tell you..."

"You don't think Matt set you up on his own do you?"

_No...no this isn't happening._

Steve's head started to spin.

"Y-you set me up..."

Steve looked straight into Danny's (Wo Fat's) eyes and saw how cold and uncaring they were.

"Matt could never pull something like this off on his own, he needed my help"

"B-but why...why would you set me up?"

Steve's heart was breaking, he wanted so much to believe that this wasn't true, but he was starring right at his partner, it was Danny's face, Danny's voice, everything about Danny was so...Danny, except for the things he was saying.

Wo Fat grinned. He knew under any circumstances Steve would never believe that his partner would betray him, but mescaline had a way of rewiring the brain, a way of making the sanest person hallucinate and bring out their deepest fears.

"I needed to help him Steve, he's my baby brother, I couldn't let those goons kill him, he needed the money that Wo Fat was going to give him for turning you over."

The way Danny was describing it, made it seem like it was not a big deal, like Steve's life was not a big deal.

Steve was trying so hard to remember the details from the warehouse but he was drawing a blank. This all felt wrong, he knew Danny was saying these things but he didn't know why. All he could remember from that day was being lured there by Matt; he didn't remember Danny being there. Why couldn't he think straight?

To say Wo Fat was enjoying this was an understatement. The dosage of Mescaline that he had administered to Steve was so brutal that he was actually losing his memory. Steve's hallucinations were so severe, that he knew he could get Steve to believe anything if he played his cards right.

"I didn't want to do it Steve, I didn't want to turn you over, but I didn't have a choice, it was either you or Matt."

Steve's heart sank, this couldn't be happening. How could Danny do this to him, how could Danny betray him like this?

"You told me in the warehouse that it wasn't worth it to save you over Matt, and you were right, it wasn't, Matt's family, he'll always come first."

Steve knew how much Danny loved his family, he just couldn't believe that his own partner, his own best friend would turn him over to a man who wanted him dead.

"You understand right Steve, you know how important family is...not that you really have one seeing as your dad's dead, your mom is god knows where, and your sister lives in another state."

Steve felt like he had been punched in the gut. Why was Danny saying this stuff to him, what had he done to deserve this?

"S-stop...please," Steve couldn't take much more of this.

Steve started to remember an argument him and Danny had. He didn't know when or where but he could remember bits and pieces of it in his head.

_You're unbelievable!_

_What's the matter with you?_

_No, don't Danny me, this is your issue not mine, and not my brothers._

_Or maybe, you can't accept that not all families are messed up like yours!_

Was Danny still mad at him? Was that why he was doing all this?

Steve was snapped out of his own thoughts when he heard Danny (Wo Fat) speak.

"Steve I'm really sorry, but I had to, just like Jenna had to, even though her fiancé ended up being dead. But regardless, it was for the same reason, to save someone we love. At the end of the day, Matt is my family, you're just my partner."

Danny could not have said anything worse. Steve felt his heart break for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes.

"J-just your partner?

Steve thought that they were more than that. Danny was the only family Steve really had, he was his brother, bestfriend, and partner all rolled into one. He thought Danny had felt the same, when had that changed?

"Yea Steve, you're just my partner, I can get a new partner but I can't get a new brother, I really am sorry."

Steve saw Danny turn his back and head towards the door.

"Dan-danny, please...don't leave me here"

Wo Fat grinned as he turned away from Steve and walked out the door.

A part of Steve started to wish for death. The one person in the world who he never thought would betray him had turned him over to the man who killed his father, to the man who has wanted him dead for years, what would he have to go home to even if he was rescued?

Steve's heart was shattered into a million pieces, Danny's words replaying over and over in his mind. His breaths started to come in shorts gasps as his whole body started to convulse. He could feel his consciousness starting to fade away again, and this time he welcomed it, wanting nothing more than to forget everything that had just happened, to forget that the one person he needed more than anyone had left him...like everyone else in his life.

* * *

Danny, Chin, and Kono had just finished speaking to the fifth and final person on their list of Wo Fat's ex-associates. They had four locations they were going to search and were headed back to headquarters to grab a few things and call Lou and his team.

The four locations were a long shot but it was all they had at the moment.

They were almost back at headquarters when Danny's phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID.

"What is it Matt?"

"Danny! I spoke to an old buddy of mine who's in lockup at the Halawa Correctional Facility, he's heard some things."

Danny sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"What kind of things?"

Chin and Kono both froze as they tried to hear much of the conversation as possible.

"Word spread like wildfire around the prison that Wo Fat had Steve, my friend says he knows where they took him, but he said he'll only talk to you."

Danny felt his heart skip a beat. This could be what they had been waiting for this whole time.

"When you get there ask for Big Wig."

"Big Wig, got it," and with that Danny hung up the phone. If it was anyone else Danny would have thanked them, but seeing as this was all Matt's fault, there was no thanking necessary.

Danny quickly pulled a u-turn and gunned it down the road. He was breaking every speed limit known to man but he didn't care, every second counted.

When they got to the correctional facility they asked for Big Wig and were placed in a private room with him.

"Where's Steve?" Danny practically jumped at the man.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up detective...what's in it for me?"

"What's in it for you?" Danny scoffed and looked over at Chin and Kono. "He wants to know what's in it for him."

Danny walked over and grabbed Big Wig by his shirt and pinned him up against the wall.

"How about me not beating the living crap out of you right here right now!" Danny was livid he didn't have time for games.

"We both know you won't do that detective, because if you do, I'll never tell you where your partner is," Big Wig grinned.

It took everything in Danny's power not to wipe that grin off his face with his fist.

"What do you want?" Chin spoke up knowing that Danny's anger was about to boil over. Chin got in between Danny and Big Wig and sat him back down in the chair.

"I want a reduced sentence, I have 10 more years in here, my kid will be 16 by then, I'll have missed half his life – "

"You should've thought about that before working for a psychotic killer!" Danny interrupted.

"Yeah I probably should have. I also want me and my family to be placed in protective custody once I'm out if Wo Fat is still alive."

Chin, Kono, and Danny looked at eachother.

"Those are my terms, take it or leave it."

They knew they didn't have a choice, they could talk to the Governor to see if he could get a reduced sentence and put him in protective custody if need be in a few years.

"Okay, fine, now where is Steve!"

"Just so you know detectives, there's a video camera in here so the deal we just made is binding."

"I'm not going to ask you again. .Steve!" Danny's patience was wearing thin.

Satisfied with knowing that the detectives would have to hold up their end of the deal, Big Wig spilled the beans.

"I have a buddy who still works with Wo Fat. He came in here yesterday and told me how they had captured Commander McGarrett. I knew this was my ticket out of here so I asked him where they were keeping him. At first he didn't want to tell me, he was worried that Wo Fat would find out. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone; the guy could never keep his big mouth shut so I knew he'd spill."

"So where is he?" Chin spoke up this time knowing full well that Danny was going to strangle this guy if he didn't get to Steve's location.

"It's an abandoned house off Komaho Road. You'll have to park on the road and walk for about 5 minutes through the forest. Just keep walking straight. You can't miss the house, it's massive."

"And how do we know that this is not a trap?" Kono asked knowing full well that Chin and Danny were wondering the same thing.

"Like I said, I want to see my kid, I want to be with my wife again!"

Danny looked at the man and knew he was telling the truth. For the first time since Steve disappeared, Danny felt hopeful.

* * *

The trio headed straight from the correctional facility to where Matt's friend had told them Steve was being held. Danny immediately made the call to Lou and Lou and his team were going to meet up with Danny, Chin, and Kono on Komaho Road.

Danny once again broke all speed limits to get there, Steve needed him, god knows what Wo Fat had done to Steve already, he'd be damned if he wasted another second.

When Danny, Chin, and Kono arrived at the meeting spot they got out of the car and headed towards Lou and his team. They all gathered around and went over the game plan; where they were going to enter, who would be paired up with whom, and which section each pair was in charge of. Lou had managed to find the blue prints of the house which was going to make the search a lot easier.

"I've split the house into 5 sections, which I've labeled on the map," Lou started as he pointed at the map in front of them. "Chin and Mack you guys are section 1, Kono and David section 2, Danny and Mark section 3, Erick and Vance section 4, and myself and Mitch will take section 5. When you're done checking your section radio in." Lou handed over radios to Chin, Kono, and Danny.

Everyone made their way through the forest and up the steep driveway and took their positions outside of the house waiting for Lou to give the go ahead to enter.

One by the one they walked into the old, creaky, dusty house. They broke off into their pairs with their guns aimed in front of them.

Twenty minutes had gone by and there was no sign of Steve anywhere. They had checked every inch of each of their sections, and there was nothing, not even a trace of Steve, until…

"Guys I may have something," Chin's voice came through the radio. Danny's heart began to race as he froze, concentrating only on Chin's voice.

Everyone could hear Chin banging down a door.

"Freeze, put your hands in the air!" Danny hadn't even realized that he had stopped breathing, _was someone in the room, was it Wo Fat, was it Steve…_

Chin went silent for a second, which felt like minutes to Danny, and everyone's heart dropped when Chin came back on.

"Damnit! It's just a stray cat, must have gotten trapped in here," Chin's deflated voice mimicking what everyone was feeling.

They continued to search for Steve for a little while longer until one by one each pair radioed in that Steve wasn't there.

With each radio in, Danny's heart sank. He looked over and saw Mark reaching for his radio.

"What are you doing?" Danny ran over, almost smacking the radio out of Mark's hand.

Mark gave Danny a sympathetic look that made him want to punch the guy in the face.

"He's not here Danny, we've looked through every inch of this room, if he was here we would've found him by now."

Mark didn't realize that his radio was on and everyone was hearing the exchange between the two.

"He's here okay, and I'm not leaving here without him!" Danny knew he sounded ridiculous, he knew he sounded like he was losing it but something was nagging away at him, his gut told him not to give up yet.

"Danny…" Chin came through the radio. "We have a few other locations we can check out, maybe Steve is in one of those places." Chin knew that this current house was the best lead they had had since Steve went missing and it broke his heart that they hadn't found Steve.

"Why would Big Wig say he was here if he wasn't, and don't say he lied, he had no reason to lie and every reason to tell us the truth!"

"I'm not saying he lied Danny, maybe he was fed some bad information, it happens," everyone else had been silent during the back and forth conversation with Chin and Danny.

"No…Chin, I know this sounds crazy, I know _I_ sound crazy, but Steve is here….somewhere." Danny couldn't shake this feeling; maybe he was just in denial?

Five more minutes went by and when Danny didn't come out of his section Chin and Kono went in.

"Danny…" Kono came up beside him and put her hand on his shoulders.

"Don't Kono…I know what you're going to say and just don't…" Danny didn't want to hear what anyone had to say right now, he wasn't leaving this place without his partner.

"Danny, the more time we waste here the longer it takes to check out those other locations where Steve may be," Chin tried to reason with Danny.

"C'mon Chin, we all know that those places are a long shot, this is the only legitimate lead we've gotten, and you both know that's true," he was staring at the cousins hoping they would agree with him.

Chin knew that when Danny got like this there was no talking him out of it, the only person who could give Danny a run for his money when it came to being stubborn was Steve.

"Fine, meet me in the middle at least, let's go check out those other locations and if we don't find anything we'll come back here okay?"

"No…" Danny was getting frustrated as he brushed past Chin to go back to the other side of the room.

"Danny, c'mon brah, he's not here!" Chin's own frustration was clearly coming to light.

Danny ignored Chin's comments and made it half way across the room when he froze.

"Did you guys just hear that?" Danny stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hear what?" The cousins replied in unison.

Danny lifted his foot and slammed it back down.

They all heard it this time, it was the sound of something slamming into a hollow floor board; the other floor boards didn't sound like that.

"There's something here," Danny bent down and lifted the floor board off the ground.

A few more floor boards later, and Danny's heart started to race, there was a ladder going down to what looked like a cellar.

"Oh my god..." Kono covered her mouth with her hands...could Steve really be down there?

Danny wasted no time as he started making his way down the ladder, heading all warning from everyone else, who were all gathered in the same room now, to be careful and go in slowly. Danny couldn't fathom the idea of going slowly, Steve needed him.

The hope of finding Steve was once again restored in everyone as they walked through the dark hallway. This seemed to be a never ending hallway, even though Danny knew he had only been walking for a few seconds. Finally, Danny saw what appeared to be a door just mere feet in front of him.

Danny's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as he placed his hand on the door knob. This was it...if Steve wasn't in here Danny didn't think he would be able to take it.

Danny took a deep breath, as did everyone else behind him. With his gun in his right hand he turned the knob with his left and entered the room.

It was dark at first, but when their eyes adjusted to the room everyone froze.

Kono gasped and tears started to fill her eyes as she saw a man hanging from the rafters by chains, feet dragging on the ground, and a back covered in dry blood from gashes that were opened up by what she could only assume was a whip.

Danny saw the same thing and froze in horror. Although his back was to them he knew it was Steve; they had finally found Steve...but were they too late?

In an instant a flood of emotions coursed through Danny, as an unfathomable fear settled into the pit of his stomach; was the dream of finding his partner about to turn into a nightmare he could never wake up from?

**TBC...**


	11. More Than Just Partners

**Chapter 11**

Danny was the first to get to Steve. As he came face to face with his partner he barely recognized him; the amount of bruising and cuts on Steve's face, arms, and chest took Danny's breath away. Danny was visibly shaking and as he started lifting his fingers to check for a pulse, Chin stopped him.

"Danny...maybe I should –,"

"No..." Danny looked at Chin with tears in his eyes and Chin understood. He knew what Chin was doing, he knew Chin wanted to spare him from not feeling a pulse, but he had to do this, he had to be the one. This was _his_ partner, _his_ best friend, _his_ brother.

Everyone held their breath as Danny's trembling fingers reached around to check for a pulse. Just as Danny placed his fingers on Steve's neck...

"D-d-anny..."

Everyone in the room froze and Danny's heart started to beat again.

"Steve...hey babe..." Danny let go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"N-not y-ou...d-reaming..."

Steve sounded so broken.

"No babe, you're not dreaming, I'm right here Steve," Danny was trying to get into Steve's line of vision.

"No...l-eft...yo-u l-eft...n-ot r-eal"

Danny's heart broke, what had Wo Fat done to him.

"Steve I'm right here, babe I'm right here, I'm real I promise you I'm real," Danny knew he had to get through to Steve, he felt like that was the only way he was going to keep Steve with him.

He took Steve's face in his hands, he knew Steve's face was bruised but he needed to touch him, he needed to show him that he was really there, that this wasn't a dream.

"Babe look at me, I know it hurts and I know you can barely see but I need you to try your best and look at me, I'm right here Steve, I'm real," Danny finally saw Steve's eyes meet his and he saw the anguish and the pain and it ripped him apart. Danny kept eye contact with Steve until Steve finally started to realize everything Danny was telling him; it was then that Danny saw a glimmer in Steve's eye.

"D-d-anny...y-ou...y-ou came back..."

_Came back? _

"He must be really out of it," Lou came up from behind Chin. "Mark is outside calling the paramedics, let's get Steve down."

Danny knew there was more to what Steve asked him, more to all of his pain, but that was a question for another time.

"Hang in there babe, we're getting you down okay," Danny coaxed Steve as Lou started to cut through the chains.

Everyone carefully took Steve down and lowered him to the ground, making sure to keep him on his side so that his torn up back didn't make contact with the dirty ground. Steve groaned as the movement sent waves of pain coursing through his body.

Danny cringed.

"I got you Steve, just breathe, we've got you babe, we've got you, you're safe."

Danny sat on the ground next to Steve's body, placing Steve's head on his lap for support, holding onto his hand. He wasn't really sure if he was holding his hand for Steve's sake or for his own...maybe both.

"Y-you came b-ack D-anny..."

There it was again, what in the world was Steve talking about. Danny would ask Steve about that later but for now he just needed to reassure Steve that he was here and he wasn't going anywhere.

"Of course I'm here babe, where else would I be, you're my best friend!"

"N-not ju-st par-partners?"

Danny was completely shocked, what did Wo Fat do to Steve, why was Steve saying these things?

"When have we ever been just partners? You're my other half Steven, so I need you to stay with me okay, I need you to stay awake and keep talking to me till the paramedics get here."

Steve was in bad shape, every inch of his body seemed to be covered in bruises, but he was hearing everything Danny was saying. The drugs were starting to wear off which made him remember that he was drugged in the first place. He was still confused, his head was killing, but he knew one thing to be true: Danny was here, Danny was with him, which could only mean one thing...Danny didn't hate him, Danny didn't betray him.

"T-i-red D-anno, sl-eep"

"Babe I know you're tired, I know you're hurting but I really need you to stay with me okay, I've been going crazy looking for you, we all have been, I need you to stay awake so that I don't go insane," Danny needed to give Steve a reason to fight through the pain and stay conscious.

Steve managed a small smile, even though it was barely recognizable due to all the swelling. It was nice hearing Danny's voice, it was nice to hear how much Danny cared.

"Y-you're a-lways a little insane"

Danny laughed. Leave it to Steve to crack a joke during a time like this.

"Only since I met you babe, before you I was perfectly sane." This was good, Danny needed to keep him talking.

"N-not true, we'll ask G-r-acie"

"Sure thing babe, you need to get better so you can ask her yourself."

Steve smiled again and took a few breaths; he never knew talking could be so difficult.

Danny felt the tremors course through Steve's body and all the anger that Danny had put aside in order to find Steve came rushing back. He couldn't imagine, didn't want to imagine, what Wo Fat had done to Steve. Steve's battered body, his swollen and bruised face, the gashes on his back, and then there was the mental trauma, everything Steve had asked Danny when he first saw him had come from a dark place within the broken man.

Danny closed his eyes and tried to will away the thoughts of Steve alone in this cellar, being tortured mentally and physically for three days. Danny's hands began to shake as he took a good look at Steve. _Was Steve even going to make it to the hospital? _

Danny mentally cursed himself for even questioning that. Of course Steve was going to make it...he had to.

* * *

A few minutes later they could hear the sirens getting closer. A few minutes after that Mark ran in with the paramedics in tow.

They got to work quickly, putting a line into Steve and loading him up on to the gurney. They placed Steve on his side, to protect his back, and started to carry him out of the house.

They had to stop when they were half way there to adjust Steve on the gurney. Steve had been unconscious for the last few minutes, and Danny was almost thankful; the As Danny let the paramedics do their thing, he looked back at the house that had kept his partner prisoner for 3 days, 3 long miserable torturous days. Danny wanted nothing more than to burn that house to the ground.

As he was about to turn around he caught a glimpse of a shadow walking towards the house. They couldn't see him but he could see them as clear as day.

Danny's froze for what felt like the tenth time today.

_Wo Fat._

"Kono, go with Steve to the hospital," Danny pulled his gun out.

"Danny, what's going on?" Chin came up beside Danny. Danny pointed towards the house. Chin immediately saw who was entering the house, as did Lou and his team. From their vantage point the forest was covering them pretty well but Wo Fat was in plain sight.

Nothing needed to be said, everyone knew what their task at hand was... capturing Wo Fat.

Lou sent Mark with Kono, Steve, and the paramedics, just in case they ran into any trouble, and the rest of them descended on the house once again.

Danny's heart was racing, when they had found Steve with no sign of Wo Fat in the house he thought for sure that he'd escaped again, but there he was.

Danny, Chin, Lou and his team all approached the house, guns drawn. As they walked in they split up and covered each room. They searched each room as Danny and Lou headed to the cellar. Danny knew that that was the first place Wo Fat would go, as that's where he had kept Steve chained up.

Danny was determined as an eerie sense of calm swept over him. He wasn't about to let his emotions get in the way of capturing Wo Fat.

Lou went down to the cellar first with Danny in tow. The door to the room where Steve was being held was open but from where they were they couldn't see anyone inside. As they walked towards the door Lou noticed a second door to his right.

"Danny," Lou whispered trying to be as quiet as possible. He moved his eyes to the door to let Danny know that he was going to check out that room.

Danny nodded and headed into the room where they had found Steve. He walked in, his gun aimed in front, searching the room for any sign of Wo Fat. When he found another door within that room he thought about calling Lou for back up but he knew that Lou was busy in the other room, so he opened the door and walked in. He hadn't even walked ten steps when he felt a hard object connect with the back of his neck as he fell to the ground, his gun falling out of his hands and scattering away from him.

"You really shouldn't have come here Detective," Wo Fat had his gunned aimed at Danny as Danny slowly turned around onto his back.

* * *

Kono couldn't believe everything that had just happened. She was so relieved that they had found Steve and that she was currently in the ambulance with him headed to the hospital, but she was worried for Danny and Chin. They were in a house with a killer, and although they had back up, she still couldn't help but worry; she had never met anyone as ruthless as Wo Fat.

Kono was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Steve stirring.

"Hey Boss, you need to stay still okay, we're on our way to the hospital, just hold on." She placed a reassuring arm on Steve's shoulder, mindful of all of his wounds.

"W-here's Dan-ny?" Even in his state Steve knew that something was wrong since Danny wasn't in the ambulance with him. "He m-ad a-gain?"

_Mad? When was Danny mad at Steve?_

Kono thought that it must be the head trauma and tried to calm Steve down.

"No boss, he's not mad, him and Chin just had to take care of something really important, they're going to meet us at the hospital"

"-kay," was all Steve could muster up before he lost consciousness.

They arrived at the hospital 10 minutes later and rushed Steve through the emergency room.

Kono stood by as the paramedics read out the list of Steve's injuries, at least all the ones that they could see, and there were many.

Kono was asked to wait outside as they rushed Steve into surgery. With shaky hands, she went to the waiting room and sat down, waiting for word on Steve and praying that Chin and Danny were okay.

* * *

"What are you going to do? Shoot me? The house is crawling with cops, they'll hear the gunshots and you'll be a dead man," Danny started to back away from Wo Fat.

"Your guys are all upstairs, I saw you walk in here by yourself, I'll be long gone by the time they find you," Wo Fat grinned as he lifted his gun towards Danny's head.

Danny instinctively kicked Wo Fat's feet from under him and Wo Fat went sprawling to the ground. Danny saw Wo Fat reaching for his gun so he got to his feet and jumped on top of Wo Fat. Danny landed some heavy punches before Wo Fat returned some of his own, knocking Danny to the ground. Both men got back onto their feet and stood in front of each other with their fists up in a defensive stance. Danny charged at Wo Fat first, Wo Fat threw a few punches that Danny was able to counter as Danny threw a few of his own, landing on Wo Fat's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards.

Danny tried to grab his gun but Wo Fat ran and speared him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Danny landed hard on his back and lay there trying to catch his breath.

Wo Fat stood up, grabbed his gun and stood above Danny. From his peripheral view, Danny could see his gun a few inches from his hand, luckily it was behind a box so it was only visible to him.

"Like I said Detective, I'll be long gone by the time they find you...say hi to Commander McGarrett for me," he grinned manically as he lifted his gun and pointed it at Danny's head.

_It was now or never..._

With lightning speed Danny reached to his left and grabbed his gun.

Danny didn't hesitate; he fired two shots at Wo Fat before Wo Fat could fire at him. Danny watched as Wo Fat crumpled to the ground, two bullets placed perfectly in his head.

Lou came running into the room, hearing the gun shots, and let out a breath of relief when he saw that it was Danny who had fired his gun. Lou bent down and checked Wo Fat's neck for a pulse. He looked at Danny and shook his head.

Chin and the rest of Lou's team came running down the stairs and appeared behind Lou. Chin's gaze went from Wo Fat to Danny.

"Danny..." Chin could barely speak. "Is he..."

Danny was breathing heavily, the adrenaline from the last few minutes coursing through his body. All Danny could do was nod his head.

Danny couldn't move, he was sure he was in shock. For years Wo Fat had tortured Steve, mentally and physically. For years they knew that he was out there, just waiting to capture Steve when he least expected it.

Danny almost expected Wo Fat to stand up, as if he was bullet proof, but he didn't move. He just laid there, a pool of blood now forming around his head.

Danny finally snapped out it and got up. He stood over Wo Fat and felt a massive weight off his shoulder. He thought back to the last few days, the fear he felt that he might lose Steve, the pain he felt at knowing that he had to leave his best friend in the hands of a killer, and the anguish he felt at seeing what Wo Fat had done to Steve. Everything that he had put them through, everything that he had put Steve through, not just today but the past few years...it was never going to happen again.

Danny smiled as he looked at the body below him. He had never enjoyed discharging his gun, never got a thrill or a rise out of it, never thought he would actually enjoy taking a life...until today.

Wo Fat was finally dead and Danny had killed him.

* * *

Kono was sitting outside the waiting room and jumped up as she saw Chin, Danny, and Lou headed down the hallway towards her, relieved that they were all safe.

"How is he?" Danny needed to know.

"He's still in surgery, we won't know anything for awhile," Kono wished she had something better to tell them, but the fact that there had been no word out of the surgery room yet was almost a good sign, it meant that they hadn't lost Steve on the table. She shuddered at the thought. She then looked at Danny,

"Danny what happened to you...your face," Kono slightly touched one of the bruises now forming on Danny's chin. "Wo Fat?" There was so much anticipation in that question.

"Steve's never going to have to worry about him ever again...none of us will" Danny's voice held conviction.

The look in Danny's eyes, the hatred mixed with relief, took her breath away. Kono jumped at Danny as she hugged him tight.

"Oh my god Danny." As she pulled out of the hug she looked Danny in the eye. "Thank you for ending this for all of us, once and for all."

* * *

Lou left a little while after with the trio promising to keep him updated on Steve's condition.

Danny, Chin, and Kono sat outside the waiting room for another hour before the doctor came out to give them an update on Steve.

Danny was the first to see the doctor and started running towards him, with Chin and Kono right behind him.

"How is he?" Danny's voice was shaky.

"It was touch and go for a bit, he coded on the table twice-"

Danny's heart stopped...Steve had died on the table...

"We managed to bring him back but we have placed him in a medically induced coma. His body is really weak and the amount of physical abuse his body has endured was the reason why we induced the coma. It's his best chance at recovering."

Everyone took a few seconds to process what the doctor was saying.

"What did they do to him..." The question was out of Danny's mouth before he could even think twice. He needed to know what they were up against, what Steve was up against.

"Are you sure you want to know detective?"

By the look on the doctor's face, Danny knew it was going to be almost unbearable to hear, but he had to know.

"No...but I need to know," Chin and Kono nodded as they both agreed.

The doctor shook his head, understanding where Danny was coming from.

"Well for starters he has 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung – one of the broken ribs had gone and poked through, a ruptured spleen, an extensive amount of bruising and swelling, as well as internal bleeding in the abdomen and the brain. The massive contusions on his back were also infected, so he's on antibiotics to fight that off."

Danny's head was spinning, he actually felt like he was going to pass out. He grabbed the side of the chair and sat down placing his head in his hands. He knew that Steve was in bad shape, but hearing the doctor lay out all of his injuries was heartbreaking.

"There's also one more thing."

Danny didn't think he could take hearing anymore.

"Commander McGarrett's toxicology reports came back and there were medium levels of Mescaline found in his blood stream, from the looks of it he was injected with an extremely high dose, which had started to wear away by the time you found him."

Now it all made sense. Danny thought back to everything Steve had said to him when they had found him in the cellar. Steve must have been hallucinating while he was drugged, seeing Danny there when he really wasn't.

_Not just partners?_

Danny still didn't understand that question, even if he was hallucinating, what would make him say the things he said? Why would he ask the questions he asked? Danny's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Chin speak.

"He's going to be okay though?" Chin spoke up seeing that Danny and Kono were at a loss for words.

"The next 48 hours will be critical, after that I'll have a better idea of how to answer that question," the doctor gave a sympathetic smile.

"Can we see him?" Danny finally found his voice looking up at the doctor from the chair.

"Sure, but only one at a time and only for a few minutes, he really needs to rest."

With that the Doctor walked away.

"You go ahead Danny, Kono and I will go grab some coffee," Chin smiled at Danny. Kono and Chin knew that Danny should be the first one to see Steve; they knew that Steve and Danny both needed it.

As Chin and Kono disappeared down the hallway, Danny headed straight to Steve's room. Once he got there he took a deep breath and entered the room; Danny froze the minute he walked in. Even if he had tried, he couldn't have prepared himself for what he was seeing.

There in front of him lay his best friend, his partner, his brother, hooked on numerous machines and more wires than he could count. As Danny moved closer he got a better look at the damage done to Steve's body. Every inch of Steve's skin that was visible was blue and purple. The swelling on his face had gone down a little but his face was still barely recognizable.

Danny felt tears well up, threatening to pool over.

He pulled up a chair and took a seat, taking Steve's right hand in his.

"Hey babe..." Danny choked up as the list of injuries the doctor mentioned was running through his head.

"You uh...you really know how to scare a guy you know that..." Danny's hands were shaking.

"I need you to hang on okay, I need you to fight. Grace is so worried about her Uncle Steve again, Kono and Chin are a mess, and I..." Danny stopped as he looked at Steve's face. "I don't know what life looks like without you so don't you dare make me find out, you hear me?"

Danny thought back to everything Steve had said to him in the cellar when they had found him.

"I don't know what happened to make you hallucinate and think that I didn't care, that I left you somehow, but you need to know that that's not true, finding you was the only thing I cared about since he took you, the only thing!"

Danny wished that he could say all this stuff to a conscious Steve, the thought of Steve doubting how much Danny loved him made Danny miserable.

"I am so sorry that this happened to you Steve, I am so sorry that Wo Fat...that my brother..."

_His brother..._

"God, I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve this...any of it...but I want you to know that Wo Fat will never, ever, hurt you again, I made sure of it..."

Danny thought back to the house, thought back to the moment he saw Wo Fat's body go limp and collapse to the ground, the moment where the pool of blood started to surround his head.

Danny was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the doctor come in.

"Detective Williams, I'm going to have to ask you to step out for a few minutes, I need to run some tests"

Danny stood up.

"Of course, I'll be right outside,"

The doctor smiled.

"I figured you would be."

* * *

When Danny got to the waiting room he took a seat in the corner and took his phone out of his pocket.

He stared at his phone for a few seconds before dialling.

"Danny!"

"We found Steve," Danny's voice was almost robotic.

"Oh my god, Danny that's amazing news," Danny clenched his jaw. Matt legitimately sounded happy.

"You should come to the hospital."

There was silence on the other end of the line, until...

"Really...you want me there?"

"Yeah, just come through the emergency and ask for Steve."

"Okay, I'm on my way!"

And with that Matt hung up the phone.

Danny sat in the waiting room chair, letting the past few hours finally sink in. Everything had been so chaotic that he was running on adrenaline, but now that he was at the hospital the adrenaline was dwindling down.

Seeing Steve in that cellar and seeing Steve in that hospital bed were two of the most gut-wrenching moments of Danny's life. His larger than life, indestructible partner looked so fragile and broken. Everything about that was so wrong.

"Danny!"

Danny looked up to see Matt headed his way, and pushed himself up off the chair.

At the same time, Kono and Chin happened to be turning around the corner headed towards Danny and saw Matt headed in the same direction.

"Danny hey how's St – "

Matt didn't get to finish his question as Danny grabbed Matt's hand and twisted it around his back.

"Matthew Williams, you are under arrest for accessory to kidnapping."

"Danny..." Kono went to approach Danny but Chin held her back, Danny knew what he was doing.

"Danny, what are you doing man," Matt started to panic as he felt the cuffs being placed around his wrists.

Danny ignored Matt's pleas and continued.

"Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney – "

"Danny please!" Matt's voice cracked.

Danny didn't budge, the images of a battered and broken Steve playing through his mind like a photo reel.

"If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

"Danny..."

"Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" Danny reiterated the question, not caring what anyone, especially Matt had to say.

"Yes..." Matt lowered his head down. He knew that there was a chance that he would be arrested at the end of all of this, he just never thought that it would be at the hands of his own brother.

**TBC...**


	12. Conversations with the Unconscious

**Hey Everyone! Thanks again so so so much for all the comments, so glad you're loving this story :). I had a few people PM me saying they can't access Chapter 11, but now that Chapter 12 is up you can go back and read 11 too, if you haven't already :). I apologize in advance as the next chapter won't be up for a few days, the next few days are going to be really busy but I'm hoping to have the next chapter up by Monday at the latest. Thanks for understanding my lovelies and hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 12**

Kono stood in shock as she watched Danny cuff his brother and read him his rights. Although she knew that Matt deserved it, her heart broke for Danny.

Chin watched the scene unfold in front of him and then walked over to Danny.

"You want me to take him down to the station?"

Danny looked over at Chin, grateful for the offer; he hadn't really thought past arresting Matt.

"Thanks Chin, can you just wait a few minutes though?"

"Yeah, of course Danny." Chin thought that Danny had wanted to talk to his brother but when Danny brushed past him with Matt, he knew why Danny needed a few minutes.

"Danny, where are we going?"

Danny ignored Matt as he opened the door to Steve's room.

Danny's heart sank as he walked Matt to the side of Steve's bed. He would never, _ever_, get used to seeing partner like this.

The minute Matt saw the condition Steve was in he looked away, Danny didn't miss this.

"Look at him…"

Matt kept staring at the ground.

" Look at him!" Danny all but growled out, quietly but filled with anger, as he looked at Matt.

Matt took his gaze off the floor and looked at Steve. He cringed at all the swelling and bruises that covered Steve's body. Matt choked up.

"Danny ...why are we here? I didn't think you would want me anywhere near Steve"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I don't. But I wanted you to see what you had done, you are just as much to blame for Steve being in this bed, being in a coma, as Wo Fat is," Danny choked up.

"He has a ruptured spleen, broken ribs, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, infections from the gashes that were opened up on his back after he was – " Danny almost couldn't finish. "..after he was whipped"

"Oh my god...Danny," tears started to well up in Matt's eyes.

"This is what you did for money, and that's something you're going to have to live with...something Steve's going to have to live with…and something _I'm_ going to have to live with..."

Danny grabbed Matt's arm and took him out of the room, not wanting Matt to spend another second in the same room as Steve.

As they walked out of the room, Chin and Kono still standing a few feet away, Matt turned around to face Danny, a tear falling down his face.

"Danny, I'm so sorry, if I had known that Wo Fat was going to do that to him, I – "

"You what Matt?" Danny interrupted raising his voice a little. "You wouldn't have set a trap for him, you wouldn't have betrayed him?"

Matt looked down at the ground, he knew no matter what he said, Danny was not going to believe him, hell he didn't even know if he believed himself.

"I don't believe that for one second. If I hadn't been there with Steve in that warehouse you would have never told us where he was or what happened, he would've gone missing and that would've been the last I ever saw of him. _You're_ the reason my best friend is in that room fighting for his life," Danny was pointing at Steve's room with a shaky hand. "And that's something that I will _never_ be able to forgive you for."

With that Danny walked away and headed towards the waiting room, with Kono right behind him, as Chin grabbed a hold of Matt's arm and escorted him out of the hospital.

Kono caught up with Danny and took a seat beside him.

"You okay?" Kono looked worriedly at Danny.

After a few seconds Danny looked up at her.

"No...but I will be when Steve wakes up," he gave Kono a forced smile. "Why don't you go see him, I'll wait out here."

"Okay," Kono smiled and gave Danny a quick shoulder squeeze and headed towards Steve room.

* * *

Kono opened the door, and just like Danny had, she froze the minute she saw Steve. Her eyes welled up with tears as a few escaped and fell down her face.

"Oh Steve..."

She sat down and held his hand in hers.

"Hey Boss...you really scared us you know." It felt wrong not hearing Steve say anything back to her.

"We're all really worried about you, we need you to fight okay, you need to come back to us, who are we without our bad-ass leader?" She smiled.

"Besides, with you not in action you know Danny is going to drive his car...you don't want that do you?" Kono's laugh quickly wiped off her face as she looked up at Steve's bruised face. She went silent for a few seconds.

"I know what Wo Fat did to you was beyond horrible, but you need to fight your way back to us, if not for yourself then for the rest of us, especially Danny," Kono wasn't sure if Steve could even here her, but on the off chance that he could, she knew what to say to make Steve fight to live.

"I'm worried about Danny... I'm afraid that if you go, a part of Danny is going to go with you and we'll lose you both," Kono started to cry finally releasing the stress and anxiety of the last few days.

For the next ten minutes she sat in his room quietly, just holding his hand reassuring him that she was there for him, that they were all there for him.

* * *

Danny was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, leaning back with his head against the wall. How did everything get so messed up?

Danny thought back to a few months ago when Matt was fleeing the country on a private jet. Matt had gotten away that time because Danny had _let_ him. If only he had shot him in the shoulder or the leg, nowhere vital but just enough to keep him from boarding that plane, all of this could have been prevented.

At the time, shooting his brother was not an option, the thought of hurting Matt was never an option, but now, looking at Steve, he would give anything to go back in time. He would take Matt having a superficial gunshot wound over Steve's current condition any day.

He thought back to that night, how Steve had lied to the feds so that he could go find his brother before the feds did. Steve had lied for Danny, lied for Matt. That was Steve; there was nothing he wouldn't do for the people he loved. Danny had never in his life met anyone as loyal as Steve, and the fact that people used that to their advantage created a deep seeded fury within Danny.

There were seven times in Danny's life that he could remember being completely and utterly terrified, and Steve claimed three of those spots. There was the time when he was a kid and his childhood best friend drowned, when his partner was killed, when Grace was kidnapped, and when Rachel threatened to fight for full custody of Grace. Then there was the time when Steve was set up by Jenna and captured by Wo Fat in North Korea, when Steve was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and their current situation with Steve, Matt, and Wo Fat.

It terrified Danny that he had come so close to losing Steve three times in the four years that he had known him, almost losing someone three times throughout their life was terrifying enough, but three times in four years...Danny was scared to think of how high that number would go in the years to come..._if Steve even makes it past this one._

Danny immediately cursed himself; he knew he had to stay positive.

As Danny was deep in thought he felt his phone vibrating. He took his phone out of his pocket and checked the caller ID, _Grace._

"Hey monkey," Danny tried to steady his voice.

"Hi Danno! Danno, Amber and I were watching the news and they said that you found Uncle Steve, is that true?"

Danny smiled, of course Grace would call him the minute she heard anything about her Uncle Steve, the kid worshipped him.

"Yeah monkey, we found him"

Grace went quiet for a few seconds.

"Is Uncle Steve going to be okay Danno?"

Grace's voice broke Danny's heart, there was so much worry, so much love, laced in that question.

"I hope so monkey, we don't know yet, but I hope so" Danny didn't want to promise her something that may not be true.

"I told you you would find him Danno, didn't I?" You could almost hear the smile on Grace's face.

Danny smiled.

"You sure did monkey."

"Danno..."

"Yeah baby"

Grace paused as if considering whether she should ask her next question.

"Can I come see Uncle Steve? I want to let him know that I'm there, I want to tell him that I want him to wake up,"

Danny's heart broke. He wanted to say yes, he wanted to let her come but he didn't want her to see Steve like this, hooked up to all these machines.

"Maybe in a few days Monkey, Uncle Steve is really sick right now and the doctors need to keep an eye on him so not a lot of people can come see him right now."

Grace seemed to be contemplating this as she was quiet on the other end.

"Okay Danno, I'm glad that you're there with Uncle Steve. I don't want him to be alone, he'll get lonely," Danny choked up as tears sprung to his eyes. His heart melted whenever he thought about how attached Grace was to Steve, and how much she loved him.

When Steve and Danny had first become partners, it shocked Danny how comfortable Grace was around Steve and how he instantly became an important part of her life. But the more he got to know Steve, the more he understood why Grace got so attached to Steve so quickly.

"Of course monkey, I would never think of leaving Uncle Steve alone in the hospital," Danny assured Grace.

"I know Danno, Uncle Steve is our family, and you never leave family," a tear fell down Danny's cheek; he prayed that when Steve finally woke up he would know that everything Grace was saying was true. Danny wanted to say something back but he couldn't find the words.

"Okay Danno, Amber says I have to sleep now, she wants to talk to you"

"I love you monkey, sweet dreams," Danny said trying to steady his voice again.

"Love you too Danno!" Danny heard Grace passing the phone to Amber.

"Hey Jersey, how are you holding up?"

It was nice to hear her voice.

"I'm okay."

"How's Steve?"

Danny took a deep breath.

"He's stable, they have him in a medically induced coma to reduce the swelling in his brain, and he has a laundry list of injuries; doc said the next 48 hours are critical,"

"You have to stay positive Danny, I know everything seems unbearable right now, but Steve needs you to stay positive, he's going to pull through!"

Danny was quiet for a few seconds, he knew Amber was right but it was easier said than done.

"Yeah...hey so I'm not going to be home for a few days, I can't leave Steve. I know you've already done more than I could ever repay you for, but do you think you could stay with Grace for the next few days?"

"You don't need to ask Danny, I was already planning on it,"

"Of course you were," he smiled into the phone. She truly was an angel.

Danny looked up and saw Kono walking towards him.

"Hey babe, I'm going to get going, I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

"Sure thing Jersey, take care of yourself, and Steve"

"I will, goodnight"

"Goodnight"

Danny hung up the phone just as Kono came up beside him.

"Hey Danny, I'm going to head back to headquarters and start on the paperwork, are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah, thanks Kono, I'm just going to go sit with Steve"

"Okay," Kono smiled at Danny. "Call me if there's any change okay?"

"I will."

And with that Kono turned around and headed out the hospital.

* * *

Danny slowly opened the door to Steve's room and took a seat next to Steve once again. He looked at the slow rise and fall of Steve's chest and he remembered the doctor saying that Steve had flat-lined twice on the table.

Danny's eyes filled with tears. Steve had _died_...twice.

He grabbed a hold of Steve's hand and held it tight, needing the touch.

Danny thought back to when he and Steve first met and how he couldn't stand Steve. He remembered their first, and only, physical altercation when he punched Steve and told him he didn't like him.

Danny laughed thinking about it. How times had changed.

Steve had quickly grown on Danny. He had learned early on that Steve was the way he was because of the cards life had dealt him. He suffered through tragedies that no kid should ever have to endure and by the time he had met Danny he had already experienced more pain and loss than most people go through in a lifetime.

Despite any differences in opinions on policing, love, and life in general, Danny had known within days of meeting Steve that Steve had one of the biggest hearts he had ever seen, and that his generosity and love had no bounds.

He also knew all the pain Steve was harboring inside. He could see through the stoic calm demeanor, and saw Steve for who he was outside of a Navy SEAL, a man who had lost his childhood and innocence way too early on in life.

Danny took a shaky breath and looked at the ground. He didn't really know what to do, he felt silly just sitting in the room doing nothing so he decided to just talk to Steve. He had a lot of things that he'd always wanted to tell Steve but never did because he never thought there was a rush. As he looked at Steve he figured now was as good a time as any.

"You know, I've never really had a best friend before you. I had friends of course, close friends even, but never one like you, never one who meant as much as you do. Do you remember when you came into my office and gave me a room card to the Kahala hotel. You knew that I had Grace for the weekend so you paid for two nights there for her and I. We had only known each other a few days at that point. I think that was when I realized who you really were, underneath the crazy super ninja cape, you were a big softy, with a massively ginormous heart," Danny smiled as he looked up at Steve.

"You have been the BEST uncle I could have ever asked for for Grace, she worships the ground you walk on. You know if anything ever happened to Rachel and me, I would want Grace to stay with you, I don't think there is anyone I would trust more with my daughter's life than you," Danny paused for a second. "She really wants to see you; she asked me just a few minutes ago if she could come see her Uncle Steve. As much as I want to let her, I don't want her seeing you like this; I'm worried that it will upset her. You're practically invincible to her, and I want to keep it that way."

Danny stood up and walked over the window and looked out at the streets below. He then turned around and sat on the window ledge as he looked at Steve.

"I would give _anything_ to trade places with you, to have you be okay and not have had to go through what you went through," Danny's eyes welled up with tears again. Danny started to look up to the ceiling to keep the tears from falling when the machines in Steve's room started to beep.

In a matter of seconds doctors and nurses were racing into the room. Danny pushed himself off the window ledge…._Steve_…

No one seemed to notice Danny standing by the window.

"His BP is dropping!" One of nurses yelled.

"WE NEED A CRASH CART IN HERE!" Steve's doctor was in the room now and noticed Danny.

"Detective Williams, we need you to leave."

Danny couldn't move, he felt like his feet were glued to the floor.

"Now Detective Williams!"

The doctor's harsh voice finally broke through to Danny as he took the painstaking walk towards the door as nurses and doctors whizzed past him.

Danny stood at the door as he watched the chaotic and heartbreaking scene unfold right in front of him.

_Steve was flat-lining…again._

**TBC…**


	13. Steve the Turtle

**I'm back :). Thanks for your patience and for your amazing comments on the last chapter! You guys are the greatest, your comments make me so very happy! I hope you guys enjoy the next instalment xoxo**

**Chapter 13**

Danny stood and watched in horror as Steve's body jerked violently as the shock waves from defibrillator pads coursed through his body. When the first time didn't work they did it again, and again, and again; the tightening in Danny's chest getting worse and worse with each shock.

He was frozen on spot, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak as an unfathomable reality started to come to light, he was going to lose the only person in his life, aside from Grace, that meant the world to him.

He wanted to yell, he wanted to tell Steve to stay, to fight, to not let Wo Fat win, but nothing came out. Danny felt defeated, he felt broken, he felt ashamed that he was related to the person who had started all of this in the first place.

After the fourth shock Danny's heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach and a wave of nausea hit. He was about to turn around and part ways with all content left in his stomach when he heard the four sweetest words he could've ever heard.

"We've got a rhythm!"

The nurses were smiling and the doctor looked spent, but Steve was alive, Steve was breathing again.

Danny turned around and slid down the wall raising his head to the ceiling, thanking whoever was up there that was watching over Steve.

A few minutes later Steve's doctor walked out and noticed Danny sitting on the ground with his hands in his face, he smiled sadly not envying the man for what he just had to witness.

In the time that he had been a doctor, he had seen a lot of police officers come through his doors with their partners in tow. He had seen the dedication, the love, the loyalty that these men and women had for each other and it never seized to amaze him how much partners meant to one another. But these two were different, these two almost seemed to be...one. He had seen it the first time he met Danny, the fear in his eyes, the deep seeded worry and anguish that was plastered all over his face was like nothing he had ever seen before, which is probably why he personally asked the nurses to allow Danny to stay with Steve 24/7. He knew that if anyone was going to give Steve a reason to live, it was going to Danny.

"Detective Williams..."

Danny looked up to see the doctor and immediately got to his feet.

"How is he?"

"He's stable again, he had stopped reacting to some of the medication he was on which is what caused his blood pressure to drop so drastically. We have him on some new medication to try and prevent this from happening again, but we'll have to monitor him closely for the next 48 hours again."

Danny let everything the doctor said sink in and just nodded as he couldn't seem to construct a single coherent thought at the moment.

"Keep doing what you're doing, keep talking to him, keeping showing him that you're there, it's honestly the best medicine for him right now," the doctor smiled as he patted Danny on the shoulder and walked away.

Danny turned around and looked into Steve's room; it looked as if nothing had even happened, as if Steve hadn't just flat-lined a few minutes ago. Danny sighed; it was going to be a long, nerve-wracking 48 hours.

* * *

Matt stared out of Chin's back seat window as the trees whizzed by. How had he messed everything up so badly?

He hated what he had done, setting a trap for Steve never felt like the right thing, never felt justified, but he had done it anyway. He was sick, he bet with money he never had and made deals he knew he would never be able to pay forward. He had been in a downward spiral for a few years now and as much as he needed and wanted help he never knew how to ask for it.

Although, in his attempts to not look like a complete and utter good-for-nothing loser, Matt always opted to solve his problems his own way, by cheating and stealing; never in a million years would he have thought that he would resort to risking someone's life. But here he was, handcuffed in the backseat of Chin's car, handcuffed by his own brother; for the first time it actually hit him how far-gone he really was.

_Danny._

For as long as he lived, Matt knew he would never forget the way that his big brother had looked at him when he realized that Matt had set Steve up, and all the subsequent times that followed.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he hadn't really given much thought to how Danny would react if he ever found out, because a) he was banking on Danny never finding out and b) he knew if he thought about the pain he would be putting Danny through he might back out of the deal with Wo Fat. But Danny's reaction was pretty much what he had expected, although he never really thought that Danny would be the one to arrest him.

Matt understood though. He knew why Danny hated him, hell, he hated himself, and he knew he deserved everything that was coming his way. Steve had been nothing but good to him since the moment they met. Danny had talked about Steve all the time and even when he had been complaining about something Steve had said or done, Matt could always tell how much Danny loved him and how much Danny respected him. Matt was grateful to Steve for making Hawaii feel like Danny's home, after everything that Danny had gone through with the divorce, it broke his heart to see his big brother in so much pain. And then to have to leave Jersey, his home, his friends, as a result of the divorce, Matt couldn't even begin to imagine what that felt like. But as grateful as he was for Steve being there for Danny, he had always been a little jealous of Danny and Steve's relationship. He knew it was silly and stupid but a small part of him felt like Steve had replaced him in Danny's life.

_Steve._

Seeing Steve in that hospital bed made Matt sick to his stomach, for the first time since the warehouse Matt had realized the full ramifications of his actions. No one deserved what Steve went through, especially not Steve. Seeing Steve laying there so still, covered in bruises and hooked to more machines than he could count, Matt knew the money hadn't been worth it. He knew that Steve would have laid down his life for him, not just because he was Danny's brother, but because that was who Steve was, he would risk his life for people without thinking twice. Matt hoped with every fiber of his being that Steve was going to make it; Danny had already lost one brother, he didn't want him to lose two.

* * *

It had been 52 hours since Steve had last flat-lined and no complications had come up since then. Danny had spent that entire time watching Steve's monitors, almost mentally willing them keep Steve's vitals consistent. Steve's doctor had come in a few hours ago with some of the nurses and had taken Steve upstairs to run some tests. They had brought Steve back down after they were finished and the doctor had promised Danny that he would be back in a few hours with the results. Danny was just waking up from a nap when the doctor walked in.

"Danny," the doctor smiled at a waking Danny. Somewhere during the last 52 hours, Danny had asked him to stop calling him Detective Williams and just to call him by his first name.

"Do you have his test results?" Danny stood up instantly.

"I do," he smiled. Danny didn't miss this, for the first time he started to feel a real sense of hope.

"The tests came back great Danny, the swelling in Commander McGarrett's brain has gone down substantially, and the bleeding has stopped. I'm going to start weaning him off the coma medication now so that he can start to wake up."

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was only 2 days ago that he thought he was going to witness his partner die right in front of him in his hospital bed, and now the doctor was saying that Steve was going to wake up.

"How long will it take before he wakes up?"

"It really depends on him," the doctor looked over at Steve. "His injuries were pretty substantial so it may take him a little longer than usual. If he's not awake by Friday, then we'll run some more tests, but from everything I'm seeing, he should be awake by then."

Danny nodded. As much as he wanted to be excited and thrilled at what he had just heard he knew that he wouldn't believe any of it until Steve actually woke up.

Friday. That was five days away.

* * *

Danny woke up to the sun beaming down on his face through the window in Steve's room. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep on the chair with his head on Steve's bed. He remembered talking to Steve a lot last night; he must've just passed out without realizing it.

As Danny started walking over to the sink to brush his teeth he looked at the calendar and noticed that it was Wednesday. It had been 3 days since the doctor had started to take Steve off the coma meds and Steve still showed no signs of waking up. Although the doctor had said that it could take some time, every day that went by without Steve waking up felt like a punch in the gut to Danny. Danny sighed and made his way to the sink.

Kono, Chin, and Lou had all come by during the day to see Steve and Kono had dropped off food for Danny. Danny was so proud of the team that they had; with Steve in the hospital and Danny standing vigil by his side, Kono and Chin and stepped up and took charge of Five-0. They were working cases, and making arrests. Lou had also been helping out a lot, and Danny mentally reminded himself to thank Lou after all this was done. He loved his team; they really were like one big family.

Chin was the last one to drop by in the evening.

"Hey brah, how you holding up," Chin walked over and squeezed Danny's shoulder.

"I'm okay, just need him to wake up that's all," Danny smiled a sad smile as he looked towards his unconscious partner.

"He will soon, Danny, don't give up hope, Steve's one hell of a fighter."

There was no denying that.

"That he is."

There was a brief moment of silence before Chin spoke again.

"So Danny, I spoke to Max, we all know Steve's going to want to see Wo Fat's body before he can actually believe that he's dead."

Danny nodded, Steve not only needed it but he deserved it as well.

"What did he say?"

"Someone has requested the body to be released, there's going to a funeral for Wo Fat..." the look on Danny's face was the same reaction Chin had when Max had told him.

"What...who would want to hold a funeral for him?"

Sure Wo Fat had a lot of goons and lackies, but they never held funerals, funerals were held by those closest to the deceased...

Danny immediately turned ashen as if he had just seen a ghost.

"His dad..." Danny looked up at Chin with a horrified look on his face. He had remembered Steve telling him recently that he had found out that Wo Fat's father was still alive.

"I thought the same thing but we can't know for sure, Max had just spoken to someone over the phone, so he has no idea who it is or what the person looks like."

Danny's mind was going in a million directions. What if it was Wo Fat's dad, what if the apple didn't fall far from the tree, what if Wo Fat was a fraction of what his father was? Danny shook his head, now wasn't the time for this, he could worry about Wo Fat's dad after Steve was awake.

_One problem at a time..._

"How long can Max keep the body for?"

"Two weeks; since Wo Fat has been tied to a few unsolved murders, including Ian Wright's, it worked in our favor."

Danny nodded hoping two weeks would be enough.

* * *

Chin left a little while later and after walking him out Danny came back and sat in the chair next to Steve. He looked up at Steve and prayed that the person requesting Wo Fat's body wasn't Wo Fat's father, Steve had been through enough, the last thing he needed to deal with was a father out for retribution for the death of his wife AND his son.

That thought alone sent a chill down Danny's spine. Danny was deep in thought when he felt his phone vibrating. He looked at the caller ID. _Grace._

"Hi monkey," he smiled into the phone.

"Hi Danno! How's uncle Steve?"

"He's the same monkey, he hasn't woken up yet," Danny tried not to sound disappointed but he knew he had failed.

"It's okay Danno, don't be sad, he's going to wake up soon, I just know it!" Grace's optimism was contagious and Danny couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.

"Danno..."

"Yeah monkey?"

"Can I speak to Uncle Steve? I know he's not awake and he can't talk but maybe he can hear me? Something really cool happened at school today and I thought that maybe if I told Uncle Steve it would make him happy. Even if he can't show us that he's happy, maybe he can still _feel_ happy?"

Danny was speechless. He had no idea where Grace came up with these things but he was happy she did. Grace wanted Steve to know that she was there, that she loved him and cared.

"I think that's a terrific idea baby," Danny smiled thinking of how proud he was that he played a part in making this perfect little angel.

"Really?!" Danny could hear the squeal in her tiny voice; clearly she hadn't been expecting Danny to say yes.

"Yeah really, just give me a second while I put the phone to Uncle Steve's ear," Danny stood up and held the phone next to Steve's ear.

For the next 5 minutes he could hear Grace going on and on about this turtle that their teacher had rescued over the weekend. The turtle was apparently so injured that no one thought he was going to make it but her teacher had brought the turtle in to show the class today. The turtle was walking again and was recovering really well. Then Grace went on to tell Steve that when the teacher had asked the class to help her in naming the turtle, one of the boys in her class had suggested naming it Steve, "after you Uncle Steve". Danny could hear the excitement in her voice. Apparently the little boy had been watching the news as well and loved Five-0 and wanted to be a police officer when he grew up.

Danny smiled. A turtle named after Steve, it was cute, he couldn't think of an animal least like his partner but still, it was cute.

Grace wrapped up her story and said goodnight to her Uncle Steve. Danny put the phone back to his ear and he and Grace said their goodnights as well.

After hanging up with Grace, Danny sat back down. He laughed and shook his head at Grace's story, if Steve could actually hear that story he knew he was laughing inside too. Danny smiled and looked up at Steve. It was then that he noticed that the swelling on Steve's face had gone down a lot and the bruises were now really dark which meant that they were in the process of healing. As he continued to examine Steve's face, his heart stopped.

Steve's eyelids moved.

Danny was sure he stopped breathing as he pushed his chair back and stood up, leaning over Steve.

"Steve..."

Danny watched in shock as Steve's eyes slowly started to open. Danny's heart began to race as his breathing quickened.

"Steve, that's good babe, wake up, I'm right here Steve, wake up..." Danny was pleading.

A few seconds passed before Danny heard the one thing he had feared he would never hear again; his partner's voice.

"D-anny..."

**TBC...**


	14. Confusion and Disillusion

**Hello there my lovely readers :). So I wasn't going to post a chapter till Wednesday but I started writing and well, I finished hahahaa You guys inspire me to update this story quickly! Thanks again for all the love and comments, I adore them and all of you! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14**

The minute he heard Steve say his name, his wanted to cry, he wanted to give Steve the biggest hug he had ever given anyone, he wanted to tell him how much he loved him, but he knew all that could wait, right now he needed to make sure Steve was okay.

"Hey babe..." Danny smiled as Steve tried to focus his eyes.

The first thing that registered in Steve's mind was how bright the room was, the second thing that registered was that he had no idea where said room was.

"D-anny..." His partner's named seemed to be the only thing he could say at the moment.

"I'll be right back babe, I'm going to go grab your doctor," with that Danny ran out of the room.

_Doctor._

Steve started to look around the room and realized that he was in a hospital but he had no idea how he had gotten there. A few seconds later Steve saw a doctor entering his room with a smile on his face.

"Commander McGarrett, it's really good to see you awake, how do you feel?"

Steve took a second to register the question.

"Throa-t's dry..."

Danny sped around the doctor and grabbed the glass of water that was on Steve's tray table and held the straw to Steve's mouth. Steve took a big sip.

"Head hurts, body feels like it was h-it by a tru-ck, and my back feels like it's all cut up," Steve croaked starring at the doctor.

Danny took a deep breath. _Because it is. _Danny shuddered slightly as he thought back to the moment when they found Steve and how Steve's torn up back was the first thing they saw.

"Well that's perfectly normal considering the ordeal you went through," he smiled as he looked at Steve and then at Danny, and then back to Steve.

"Do you remember what happened, how you ended up in the hospital?" The doctor watched Steve closely.

Steve stared into the distance as he tried to remember what had happened.

"Uh, I remember your brother calling me Danny and me coming to pick you up and us driving to the warehouse...but that's it...were we in an accident?"

Danny looked at the floor.

"No babe, we weren't in an accident..." He was really hoping that he wouldn't have to tell Steve what happened.

"Oh..." Steve looked away angry at himself for not being able to remember. He looked back at the doctor. "That's all I remember, everything after that is a blank."

Danny looked at the doctor worriedly and the doctor just smiled at Steve.

"It's completely normal that you would have a bit of memory loss after everything that you went through..."

There it was again, _what the hell had happened to him?_

The doctor walked up to Steve, checked his eyes and checked his heart beat with the stethoscope.

"We'll run some tests, but I'm almost certain that your memory will come back soon enough when you're ready."

_When you're ready_...what was so bad that he couldn't remember now, why did he have to be _ready_?

"You should rest Commander, I'll be back to check on you in a little bit," he smiled as he gave Steve's shoulder an ever so gentle squeeze.

Danny watched as the doctor turned and left the room.

"I'll be right back okay," Danny smiled at Steve and ran after the doctor.

"Doctor Connor," the doctor turned around as he heard Danny behind him. "Why can't he remember anything?"

Doctor Connor looked at Danny with empathetic eyes.

"It could be a multitude of things Danny, it really is common for patients who had suffered major physical and mental trauma such as Commander McGarrett to not remember everything right away, either because of the physical trauma or because they are mentally suppressing it as a form of PTSD. I can know for sure, after we run some tests, which of the two it most likely it."

Danny just nodded and looked into Steve's room. The doctor smiled and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it Danny, Commander McGarrett is through the worst of it, I'm certain within the next few hours to next few days he'll start to regain his memory,"

"That's what I'm worried about," Danny mumbled under his breath, quiet enough for the doctor to not hear.

Danny had hoped that when Steve had woken up that he would have remember everything, instead of having no recollection and then remembering it later on, which almost felt like re-living it over again.

Danny sighed, thanked the doctor and walked back into Steve's room.

As Danny got closer to Steve's bed he could see that Steve was asleep again, the machine's all working together in a rhythmic pattern, it was almost soothing.

Danny sat down in the chair next to Steve's bed and contemplated what he was going to do, what he was going to say, if Steve woke up again and started asking questions about what had happened. He couldn't lie to Steve but he was worried that Steve wouldn't be able to handle the truth in his fragile state.

Danny looked at his best friend and shook his head, the doctor's words relaying in his mind, _Commander McGarrett is through the worst of it, _Danny sighed, he may be through the worst of it physically but he was about to be put through the ringer again emotionally; it just wasn't fair.

As Danny sat back in the chair he realized that he hadn't called Chin and Kono yet to let them know that Steve had woken up. He stepped outside and made the phone call.

* * *

Chin and Kono arrived 10 minutes after Danny had hung up the phone with them. Danny hadn't eaten in a few hours so Kono had brought some food for all of them. Once the pair arrived the three of them walked over to the cafeteria to eat. Danny hated leaving Steve's side but he knew Steve would probably be asleep for a bit and the three of them couldn't be in his room talking; the cafeteria was also not far from his room.

"How is he?" Kono looked at Danny with worry etched on her face.

"Uh, considering what he went through, he's okay I guess...he doesn't remember what happened though..." Danny looked up at the cousins.

"He doesn't remember anything?" Chin all of a sudden lost his appetite.

"He remembers Matt calling him, he remembers picking me up to go to the warehouse, and that's it, he asked if we had gotten in an accident," Danny shook his head as he looked at his food, he really wasn't hungry either.

"What did the doctor say about his memory loss?" Kono asked playing with her food.

"He said it was normal, that Steve was through the worst of it and that his memory would eventually come back sooner or later. They're running some tests later and he said he'll know for sure then if the memory loss is a physical thing or a mental thing, but he said he's betting on it being mental."

"That's good though right, it's better than his brain being physically damaged..." Chin was trying to find the bright side to this situation.

"I guess..." Danny looked at the ground. "Depends on how bad his mental and emotional damage is, who knows what Wo Fat said and did to him while he was high on those drugs, Steve was saying some messed up things when we found him."

_You left, not real_

_You came back..._

_Not just partner?_

The things Steve had said in that cellar had scared Danny more than he would have liked to admit. He needed Steve to get better, he needed Steve to remember so that he could talk to him, make sure that Steve knew how important he was, and that Danny would never leave him. After recalling everything that Steve had said to him in that cellar, his worst fear right now was that Steve would wake up, remember everything, and feel like Danny hadn't been there for him, feel like Danny had somehow abandoned him or not cared.

Chin and Kono could see that Danny was having a difficult time and they felt for him. Danny had been through the ringer the past few days, and as brutal as Steve's mental and physical pain was, Danny's was easily comparable, after all, when you hurt one you hurt the other.

* * *

Steve had woken up to an empty room, except for the pretty nurse who was standing to his right checking on his monitors. Steve looked around the room for Danny but couldn't seem him anywhere, he didn't know why but he had expected Danny to be there when he woke up again.

The nurse must have noticed Steve's wandering eye because she looked over and smiled at him.

"Your partner is just grabbing some food with your other officers, he left about 10 minutes ago, he'll be back soon, trust me, he's never gone for long," she smiled at Steve.

Steve wanted to smile back, he wanted to believe that what she was saying was true, but something was nagging away at him telling him that something was wrong, that things weren't as they seemed.

As Steve sat there starring at the wall he started to remember bits and pieces from the night he had received the call from Matt.

_"Danny! Hey! We need to go in together, slowly, even if he thinks he's alone he may not be!"_

_"Matty, what the hell's going on man, are you okay?"_

_"Danny...what are you doing here,"_

_"He's not the one who's in trouble,"_

_Wo Fat._

_"Commander, it's so good to see you again"_

_"There really is no need to protect your brother Detective, he's not the one we're after, in fact, he's the one who helped us lure Commander McGarrett here,"_

_"How could you, why would you do this Matt?"_

_"I'll give you 5 million reasons why,"_

The flood gates had opened and the memories started to bombard Steve's mind, every single last one of them.

_"Danny...I need this money, I owe this money to someone who's going to kill me if I don't pay up, I didn't have a cho..." Danny stopped Matt before he could finish that sentence._

_"DON'T...Don't tell me that you didn't have a choice, don't tell me that your only choice was to hand my partner over to a ruthless killer._

_"Danny, please man, just go" _

_"I said no Steven!"_

_"It's up to you Detective, leave now and your brother gets to come with you, unharmed...stay and he dies."_

_"I'll see you soon Danno,"_

All of a sudden the memories stopped. Matt had set him up, walked him into a trap, just like Jenna had done. Steve knew there was more; he knew he was still missing a huge chunk of what had happened to him, namely, the part where he was Wo Fat's prisoner...again.

Steve closed his eyes as the next set of memories started to wash over him.

_"Where's Doris?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"You're lying!"_

Steve remembered being electrocuted with the cattle prod, being beaten senseless with a bat and brass knuckles, and being used as a human punching bag.

_"Commander...are you ready to talk yet?" Wo Fat came and stood in front of Steve._

_"No matter how many times you ask me it's not going to change my answer, I don't know where Doris is, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you,"_

_"I know what she did, I know what happened to your mother."_

Steve remembered seeing the pain in Wo Fat's eyes and then he remembered Wo Fat walking in with a whip. _That explains my back..._

The next set of memories started to surface, and Steve had no idea what he was in for.

_"I just injected you with a very__very __high dose of Mescaline, not enough to kill you but enough to make you go a little crazy...enjoy Commander,"_

Steve cringed inwardly knowing full well how brutal that drug could be. He closed his eyes and tried to will the next set of memories to surface, not knowing that it was about to shake him to his core and shake the very foundation he relied on for his recovery.

_Danny._

He remembered seeing Danny there, he remembered Danny coming in after the drug had been administered, he remembered thinking that Danny had found him and that he was safe.

_"D-anny...you found me,"_

_"How? How d-id you k-now to look here?"_

_"Wo Fat told me..."_

Steve's eyes shot open but he couldn't stop the memories from invading his mind.

_"You don't think Matt set you up on his own do you?"_

_"Y-you set me up..."_

_"Matt could never pull something like this off on his own, he needed my help"_

_"I needed to help him Steve, he's my baby brother, I couldn't let those goons kill him, he needed the money that Wo Fat was going to give him for turning you over."_

No...this was not happening. He remembered exactly how he had felt in that moment, how crushed and devastated he had felt, the worst part wasn't that he was set up by Matt, or even that he was tortured by Wo Fat again, the worst part in this entire horror story was what he was reliving right now...his partner, his brother, betraying him.

_"I didn't want to do it Steve, I didn't want to turn you over, but I didn't have a choice, it was either you or Matt."_

_"You understand right Steve, you know how important family is...not that you really have one seeing as your dad's dead, your mom is god knows where, and your sister lives in another state."_

_"Steve I'm really sorry, but I had to, just like Jenna had to, even though her fiancé ended up being dead. But regardless, it was for the same reason, to save someone we love. At the end of the day, Matt is my family, you're just my partner."_

_"Yea Steve, you're just my partner, I can get a new partner but I can't get a new brother, I really am sorry."_

_"Dan-danny, please...don't leave me here"_

Steve couldn't believe what he had just seen but he also knew that everything he was seeing had happened, he had seen it with his own eyes. Although every fiber in his being was telling him that there was more to this, that the drugs had caused him to hallucinate, the images of Danny standing in front of him in that cellar were as clear as day, as was the pain he was feeling.

Steve's heart started to race and he was suddenly having a hard time breathing. He could hear his monitors going off as he didn't even try to fight the darkness that was starting to consume him.

* * *

Danny, Chin, and Kono could hear the commotion from the cafeteria and immediately ran over towards Steve's room.

Danny's heart dropped to his stomach as he realized the machine sounds were coming from Steve's room as doctors and nurses were rushing in.

The trio ran and stood in front of Steve's door, praying that Steve was going to be okay. Danny took a deep breath, he didn't think he could handle Steve flat-lining again, he just couldn't.

A few gut wrenching minutes later the machines had a steady rhythm again and Dr. Connor walked out and looked at the trio, knowing that they were going to want to know what had happened.

"Commander McGarrett's heart rate suddenly spiked, which is why you heard the monitors go off. We gave him something to get his heart rate down, he's unconscious but he should wake up soon."

"What happened?" Chin seemed to be the only one who could find his voice.

"We're not sure to be honest, the nurse had said that he had been awake for the last little bit...it's highly possibly that he remembered some of the things he went through the last few days, which triggered an anxiety attack."

Danny looked at the ground, cursing himself for not being there when Steve woke up. He then started wondering how much Steve had remembered, if what the doctor was saying was true. Danny started to breathe heavy as he took a seat in one of the chairs outside Steve's room.

"Hey brah, it's going to be okay," Chin sat down beside Danny placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Danny shook his head.

"What if he remembered Chin? What if he remembered everything that had happened, everything that that sick bastard had done to him, said to him...and I wasn't there...I wasn't there to tell him that none of it was true..." Danny knew he was talking a mile a minute but he couldn't help it.

"None of what was true Danny?"

"The things that Steve had said to me when we found him, how I had left before but I came back and how he asked me if we weren't just partners, Wo Fat messed with his head while he was on the mescaline, he lied, made Steve think that _I_ didn't care...and I wasn't there to tell Steve that none of it was true," Danny was starting to have his own anxiety attack.

"Danny, I'm sure he knows that anything Wo Fat said wasn't true," Kono was trying to calm Danny down.

"That's the thing though! I don't think he thought it was Wo Fat saying those things to him, I think he thought it was me!"

* * *

Steve wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for, he remembered what had happened, he remembered having all the memories of the last few days flood back, right down to "Danny" being down there in that cellar with him and not helping him.

Steve opened his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat as he saw Danny in the chair right beside his bed, sitting upright as he saw Steve's eyes meet his.

"Hey..." Danny's voice was so soft, barely above a whisper.

"Hey..." Steve looked at Danny and his heart broke. The images of Danny in that cellar saying all those horrible things to him were playing in his mind like a broken record.

"How are you feeling," Steve could tell that Danny was shaken up too.

"Uh, I'm okay,"

"Good...that's good..." Danny had his hands intertwined and placed on his knees, slightly hunched over.

"Steve..."

Steve knew where this was going and he didn't want to do this right now, after everything that he had seen, looking at Danny right now didn't feel good, it hurt.

"I'm pretty tired Danny, I think you should – "

"I know Steve, I know you're tired and I promise I'll leave, I just need to ask you something," Danny's heart was shattering.

"Okay..."

"Did you remember what happened? Is that why..."

Danny didn't need to finish his question. _Is that why your heart rate spiked, is that why you had an anxiety attack and lost consciousness._

"Yeah..." Steve was finding it hard to speak.

Danny nodded his head and looked at the ground.

"Do you remember the rescue? Do you remember us finding you; do you remember us talking before you were taken to the hospital?" Danny was looking up at Steve like a lost child.

As Steve looked at Danny, new flashes of memories started to invade his mind.

_"Steve...hey babe..."_

_"N-not y-ou...d-reaming..."_

_"No babe, you're not dreaming, I'm right here Steve," Danny was trying to get into Steve's line of vision._

_"No...l-eft...yo-u l-eft...n-ot r-eal"_

_"Steve I'm right here, babe I'm right here, I'm real I promise you I'm real,"_

_"D-d-anny...y-ou...y-ou came back..."_

_"I got you Steve, just breathe, we've got you babe, we've got you, you're safe."_

_"Of course I'm here babe, where else would I be, you're my best friend!"_

_"N-not ju-st par-partners?"_

_"When have we ever been just partners? You're my other half Steven, so I need you to stay with me okay, I need you to stay awake and keep talking to me till the paramedics get here."_

When Steve snapped out of it he looked over at Danny who was watching him intently. He didn't know what to believe. There were two different Danny's, the one who betrayed him and the one who saved him, he knew which one he wanted to believe, but he couldn't tell which one was real and which one was not. He knew he had been injected with mescaline and he knew what that did, the hallucinations it caused. Although Steve was certain that the Danny that betrayed him was a hallucination, it was all too much to take in at the moment.

Steve could see the anguish in Danny's eyes. Danny's need for Steve to acknowledge that everything was okay between them, that they were still partners, still best friends, was written all over his face. But as much as Steve wanted to, he just couldn't talk to Danny right now, everything in his head was a mess, he was confused, disoriented...heart-broken...he just wanted to be alone.

"I'm really tired Danny, you should probably go home, I'll see you in the morning or something" Steve looked away not being able to handle the pain he knew he was causing Danny with those words.

Danny felt like he had been punched in the gut.

_You should probably go home._

He had almost forgotten what home even looked like because he had been living at the hospital for the last few days. He hadn't left Steve's side, except to eat and go to the bathroom, but aside from that he had been glued to his partner. He had sworn that if the doctors or nurses made a fuss about him staying he would raise hell until they let him stay. But they hadn't questioned it; they even insisted that he stay.

It broke his heart that when he was finally asked to leave it wasn't by a nurse or a doctor, it was by the one person he never thought he would hear it from, the same person who was inadvertently responsible for his emotional breakdowns and panic attacks for the last few days. It physically hurt him to even think about leaving Steve's side. All he had wanted for the last few days was for Steve to wake up, to hear his voice, to tell him how much he meant to him and how much he had scared him. And now Steve was asking him to leave, asking him to walk away because although he didn't actually come out and say it, Danny knew that Steve couldn't stand looking at him, couldn't stand being in the same room as him; it was written all over Steve's face and it made Danny sick to his stomach

Given any other circumstance Danny would've fought like hell to fix things between him and Steve right then and there, he would've stayed in that room and talked Steve's ear off until he made him see that all the horrible things he thought Danny had said or done didn't actually happen, that they were just devastating side effects from the drug.

But he knew that pushing Steve to talk, or listen, right now, when he clearly didn't want to, wasn't going to help matters.

Steve's heart rate had already spiked a little awhile ago and the last thing Danny wanted was to cause any more stress or any more pain for Steve. So he took a deep breath, tried to control his shaking hands, and got off the chair.

"Okay"

Steve didn't miss the quiver in Danny's voice or his shaky hands, and for a brief second a part of him wanted to tell Danny to stay, wanted to ease some of his partner's pain and tell him that everything was going to be okay...but he didn't...he couldn't, because Steve himself didn't know if things would ever be okay again. So he just kept his mouth shut and allowed Danny to walk away.

Each step towards the door was physically painful. He had thought that when they had found Steve that everything would be okay, that there would be emotional and physical scars but that Steve would've leaned on him to help him get through it; that their friendship would be the glue that would put Steve back together piece by piece, put Danny back together piece by piece.

He had thought that when they found Steve they would be happy, that they would be whole again; never in a million years did he think that finding Steve would lead to both their hearts being shattered into a million pieces.

He walked to the door and looked back at Steve who had angled his body so that he was no longer facing Danny.

Danny's eyes filled with tears as he shook his head, turned around, and continued the excruciating walk away from the one person he needed more than anything right now.

**TBC...**


	15. Bringing in Reinforcements

**Hey everyone! Ah thank you guys so much for continuing to follow this story and sending me your comments and feedback, can't say it enough, you guys are the best! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter ...oh yeah, Chapter 16 is up as well ;) xoxo**

**Chapter 15**

After Danny left Steve's room he walked straight to his car, wanting to be away from anyone and anything. He got into his car, locked the door, and just sat there staring at the almost empty parking lot in front of him.

This was not how it was supposed to turn out, them finding Steve alive was supposed to be something to celebrate, was supposed to bring them closer together, not drive a wedge between them.

At first Danny felt angry. He felt angry at Matt for starting all of this in the first place, for being the reason that Steve was captured and tortured, and angry at Wo Fat for everything he had done to Steve, for finally being able to break Steve. If he wasn't already dead Danny was sure he would've gone out and looked for him right then and there and put a bullet through the bastard's head.

Then came the frustration. He was frustrated at the situation; he was frustrated that he couldn't get through to Steve, even though Steve had just woken up a few hours ago, and asking for everything to be instantly okay was wishful thinking. At first when Danny had found Steve in the cellar and Steve had accused Danny of leaving he had thought that Steve was referring to the warehouse, how Danny had left with Matt. He thought that the drugs were confusing his partner into thinking that he had _wanted_ to leave that warehouse with Matt. But then when Steve asked if they weren't just partners, that's when it clicked, Steve was talking about something completely different, something that happened while Danny had been searching for him. He wished that he could make Steve see the truth, make him see that whatever Wo Fat had done to him, or said to him, wasn't true, wasn't real. Make him see that he had been in hell the entire time Steve was missing.

Finally came the sadness. Once the other two emotions weaned through his system, the sadness and overwhelming sense of despair washed over Danny. He felt spent; his entire body seemed to shut down at once as he placed his hands on the steering wheel, resting his head on them. Everything leading up to today, to this moment in the car, came crashing back to him like a ton of bricks.

He could recall the fight in the car with Steve where he had made a jab at Steve's family (something he was still so sorry for), he remembered exactly how he felt when he found out that Matt had set Steve up and subsequently how he felt when he knew he had to leave his partner in the hands of Wo Fat. He remembered the painful tightness in his chest during those long and torturous three days, which had admittedly been the worst three days of his life. He remembered going through the range of motions, feeling defeated and betrayed then feeling hope when Matt told them about the correctional facility. He remembered how he had felt entering that house, entering that cellar, and seeing Steve hanging there. He remembered exactly how he felt the moment he knew Steve was alive, the 10 pounder boulder that had been laying on his chest finally being lifted, finally being able to breathe again. He remembered talking to Steve, holding him, until the paramedics came. He remembered everything from the hospital; arresting his little brother and the fear he felt as Steve flat-lined, a fear he had only felt when Grace had been kidnapped.

He remembered it all. Everything that had happened in the last 4 days had led to this moment, led to him sitting in his car, alone, trying to hold onto what little resolve he had left.

_You should probably go home._

Danny physically cringed as Steve's words played over and over in his head. Every thought Danny had had for the last 4 days had been about Steve; it had consumed him, his mind, body, and soul, nothing mattered to him besides getting his partner home. It felt as if a piece of him had been missing the entire time Steve was gone, and all he had wanted to do was get that piece back.

He knew how much he loved his partner, how much he meant to him, but it wasn't until this whole fiasco did he realize how much a part of him Steve was. The thought of losing Steve was unbearable and it made Danny physically sick.

And then to find Steve alive, to have him wake up, have him talking, only to reject Danny, asking him to leave, to go home after he had spent countless days and nights obsessing over finding Steve, worried out of his mind... it felt like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest; it was the world's cruelest joke and Danny was the recipient. The only thing that was comparable to the pain Danny felt from Steve's rejection was the pain he felt as he watched Steve flat-line in the hospital.

Danny knew the rejection was caused by the effects of the drugs, the hallucinations, Wo Fat, but it didn't make it hurt any less. It was still Steve saying it to him, Steve not wanting to be around him when all he wanted was to not leave Steve's side.

His heart was broken; he knew somewhere down the line they would fix this, but he didn't know how long it would take or if his heart could handle waiting that long.

And even if they did patch things up, would they ever be the same again? Would Steve ever look at him the same again?

Danny felt the tears threatening to pool over and he didn't try to fight it; he just let go and felt the weight of the last few days, the weight of Steve's last few words to him, completely take over.

* * *

Steve woke up the next morning, bright and early as the sun beamed in through his windows. He smiled as the light lit up the room; he had spent days in a dark cellar with no real sense of time, so the bright sun was the first real sense of normalcy he had had since he was rescued.

Steve looked over at the chair beside him almost expecting Danny to be there and was surprised to find himself a little disappointed that Danny wasn't there.

He thought back to everything he remembered yesterday, to Danny in the warehouse, "Danny" in the cellar, and Danny when he was rescued. The "Danny" in the cellar was painful to remember, as drugged up as he was, Steve could remember everything that "Danny" had said to him, and he could remember how his heart shattered every time "Danny" had said something.

But then he remembered the Danny in the warehouse and the Danny that had rescued him. He remembered Danny not wanting to leave the warehouse, remembered him standing beside Steve refusing to leave. He remembered how bad he felt for Danny when he finally had to leave, and he remembered thinking that whatever Wo Fat was going to do to him wouldn't even compare to the pain Danny was going to go through not being able to stop it.

And then he remembered "Danny" in the cellar again.

Steve shook his head. Every time he would remember how much Danny cared about him, "Danny" from the cellar would immediately pop back into his mind, and as much as he hated it, he couldn't fight it. Deep down he knew it was the drugs, he knew that it had to be a hallucination, but he couldn't shake how he felt, couldn't shake everything "Danny" had said to him.

Steve looked up at the ceiling. He hated this, he hated feeling this way, he hated being confused and it frustrated him that his brain seemed to be a jumbled upp mess. He also hated that he was hurting Danny. The look on Danny's face last night when he had asked him to go home was painful to see, but every time he looked at his partner all he saw was "Danny" from the cellar, and he just couldn't deal with that right now.

* * *

Danny had headed straight to 5-0 headquarters in the morning instead of the hospital. As much as he wanted to see Steve he was almost certain that Steve didn't want to see him and the thought of being rejected again scared him enough into not going to the hospital alone. Danny figured that if he went into work, the three of them could drop in on Steve at the same time, that way Steve wouldn't solely be concentrated on Danny and wouldn't ask him to leave again.

"Danny, what are you doing here, I thought you would be at the hospital?" Kono walked up to Danny with a worried expression.

"Uh yeah, I thought so to but turns out I'm not exactly Steve's favourite person at the moment," Danny tried to force a smile and play it off as a joke but the cousins saw right through it.

"It's really that bad huh..." Chin remembered their conversation from last night, how distraught Danny was that Steve may have been hallucinating down in the cellar and seeing Danny there when he really wasn't there.

"Yeah," Danny looked at the ground. "I was planning on staying the night like I had been since he was admitted there but Steve asked me to leave. I tried talking to him about it, to tell him that it wasn't me in the cellar but he didn't want to hear it. You should've seen his face Chin, he looked at me like _I_ was the bad guy," Danny shook his head.

"Danny, I'm so sorry," Chin's heart was aching. He knew how hard the last few days had been for Danny and he witnessed firsthand the depth of devotion Danny had for his partner. It broke his heart that Steve was pushing Danny away.

Danny continued to look at the ground and then took a deep breath, he couldn't do this, not right now, he couldn't turn into a weeping mess first thing in the morning. So he sucked it up, and pushed his emotions into the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah...anyways, I was thinking the three of us could drop in together, that way it's not just Steve and me so he won't feel as uncomfortable with me around"

Kono shook her head, everything about that sentence was so wrong; Steve and Danny never felt uncomfortable around each other. She hated Wo Fat; even from beyond the grave he was managing to ruin their lives.

But Danny didn't need to hear that right now, he just needed to know that they were in his corner, his and Steve's.

"Sounds good Danny, let's head over," she went and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

* * *

The trio arrived at the hospital and headed towards Steve's room. This was the first time that Chin and Kono were going to see Steve awake and as happy as they wanted to be, the situation with Danny and Steve put a damper on their moods.

Kono pushed through the door first and her face lit up when she saw Steve sitting up in his bed.

"Boss!" Kono almost started crying as she hugged Steve.

"Hey Kono," Steve smiled at her, thankful that he was alive to even be receiving hugs from his team.

"You had us worried brah," Chin walked up behind Kono and gave Steve a hug.

"Someone's got to keep you guys on your toes right," Steve smiled but his smile started to fade as he saw Danny lingering a few feet behind the cousins.

"Hey," he forced a smile at Danny.

"Hey..." Danny forced a smile back. He felt like he shouldn't be there, that Steve would be more comfortable if it was just Chin and Kono, so he stayed close to the door, away from Steve's line of sight and far enough away to hopefully give Steve the space he so clearly wanted.

Kono looked from Steve to Danny and back to Steve. Her heart broke at the pure anguish on their faces.

Steve quickly turned his attention back to Chin and Kono.

"Sorry for having a little meltdown yesterday, I heard you guys stopped by; I was really hoping to see you."

"Don't be silly boss, you have nothing to apologize for, and besides we're here now right, which is all that matters," Kono smiled as she squeezed Steve's arm.

For the next few minutes Chin ran Steve through the rescue, how Matt had given them the tip, how Lou helped out. He left out a lot of the details like how Danny had been the one to find Steve and the one to kill Wo Fat. He wanted to save it for another time where he could sit down and have a serious talk with Steve about Danny and everything Danny had gone through and done for him.

Steve smiled, it was nice to know so many people cared. He also realized that if Danny was with Chin and Kono the entire time that he couldn't have been in the cellar too...even though he could see Danny's face as clear as day. Steve shook his head, now wasn't the time, he had a more pressing question to ask.

"Wo Fat?" Steve didn't realize he was holding his breath waiting for an answer. He needed to know if Wo Fat had escaped yet again, if he would possibly be the target of another set up in the future. It seemed like an eternity before...

"He's dead," Danny's voice was cold and hollow but held conviction.

Steve looked past Chin and Kono at Danny, and was at a loss for words. Wo Fat was dead? He was actually dead? Steve couldn't believe it; he didn't think that monster would ever die. Maybe he was still hallucinating...

"How..." was all he managed to get out.

Chin realized that Danny wasn't going to say anymore so he spoke up.

"Don't worry about that right now Steve, I promise we'll fill you in on everything once you're feeling a bit better, but just know that he's dead. It's not a hoax or a mistake, we saw his body, Max came and picked it up...he's dead."

Steve was speechless, this felt like a dream.

"He's never going to hurt you or anyone you love ever again Steve," Kono smiled with tears in her eyes.

Danny sighed. He wanted to be the one telling Steve all of this. He wanted to talk to him, ask him if he was okay, how he was feeling after hearing what he just heard, but he just kept his mouth shut knowing that Steve probably didn't care to talk to him right now.

Steve looked up at the ceiling as everything his team was telling him right now started to register. Wo Fat was dead...the man who had hired Hesse to kill his father, the man who had tortured him not once, but twice, the man who had made his life a living hell for years, was dead. Steve looked back at his team...

"I don't know what to say..." Not only didn't he know what to say, he didn't know how to feel. He was beyond happy that Wo Fat was dead, and at the same time a little sad that he wasn't the one to do it. He knew that sounded selfish, but after everything that Wo Fat had put him through he had figured that he would eventually be the one to kill him, he _wanted_ to be the one that killed him.

And then there was the minor issue of whether he was actually dead or not. Wo Fat was a snake, if anyone could fake a death it would be him. Steve knew he wouldn't believe it till he saw Wo Fat's body for himself.

"It's a lot to take in, I know," Chin could see that the wheels in Steve's head were turning. "We also know that you won't believe he's dead until you see it for yourself so we got Max to hold the body as long as he can."

Steve looked up, thankful to have a team that knew him so well.

"How long?"

"Two weeks, I think that'll be enough time," Chin smiled at Steve.

Steve was about to ask Chin why they only had two weeks, when Dr. Connor walked in.

Dr. Connor first greeted Danny as he was closest to the door.

"Danny, nice to see you again, we missed you last night," he smiled at Danny and patted him on the shoulder.

Danny smiled and looked at the ground.

Steve didn't miss this exchange between Danny and Dr. Connor; the doctors and nurses here seemed to be really fond of Danny, more so than with his other team members.

Dr. Connor walked over to the rest of the gang.

"Hey guys, we need to run some tests on Steve, and it may take a little while so..."

"Got it doc," Kono smiled at Dr. Connor.

"We should get going anyway, we have to go interview some witnesses for a case, we'll be back later okay Steve," Chin locked hands with Steve.

"Sounds good Chin, bye Kono," and then looking past them at his partner, "bye Danny..."

Danny looked up.

"Later Steve," another forced smile.

* * *

For the next few days Chin, Kono, and Danny dropped by in the morning and after shift to check up on Steve. Danny always made sure to go with Chin and Kono, and although every time he saw Steve it broke his heart a little more, he had to see him; he had to know that he was doing okay, that he was getting better.

It was 3:00 pm on a Wednesday when Dr. Connor walked in to take Steve's blood work.

"How are you feeling Commander?"

Steve looked up at the doctor.

"Honestly, a lot better, the best I've felt since I woke up," and that was the god's honest truth. Steve felt pretty good, physically at least.

"That's great..." Dr. Connor paused and then. "How come your partner hasn't been around as much lately? He was practically glued to that chair beside your bed since you were admitted here."

Dr. Connor knew full well why Danny wasn't showing up alone, why he barely spent any time at the hospital anymore. He had slightly overheard the conversation between Chin and Danny...

_That's the thing though! I don't think he thought it was Wo Fat saying those things to him, I think he thought it was me!_

He also heard the conversation between Steve and Danny that night, and how Steve had asked Danny to leave because he had remembered things from when he was captured. Although Dr. Connor wasn't sure of the context of these conversations he got the just of it; the drugs had made Steve hallucinate and during those hallucinations Danny had done or said things that made Steve feel betrayed. Dr. Connor had wanted to bring it up with Steve earlier but he wasn't sure if he was stable enough, but he knew he was now.

"He was?" Steve looked at the doctor like a child would look up at a parent looking for reassurance.

Dr. Connor smiled; there was hope for these two yet!

"Yeah, he was, why do you think he's so popular around here?" Dr Connor laughed and Steve smiled. Everyone around here did seem to know Danny and were on a first name basis with him.

"He was really worried about you, I've seen a lot of police officers come through these doors with their partners right behind them, but I can honestly tell you, I have never in my 20 years of working as a doctor, seen the kind of dedication and devotion from someone like I saw from Danny."

Steve couldn't look away or stop listening; he wanted the doctor to keep going.

"You flat-lined while you were in a coma and Danny was in the room when it happened,"

Steve's heart dropped, he could only imagine what that must have been like for Danny.

"I swear I felt like I was fighting to save both of your lives when I was trying to revive you," the doctor smiled. "I've never seen a partnership, a friendship, like yours before. I don't know what happened to you down in that cellar, all I know is you have a partner who moved hell and earth to get you back, who wished that he could trade places with you and be the one who suffered through everything you suffered through just to spare you the pain. I rarely see those kinds of friendships anymore, I envy you. Don't let something like that go Commander, I can guarantee you you won't find anything like it again."

Steve looked at the doctor and then at the ground; he was at a loss for words.

He knew the kind of friendship him and Danny had was rare, he had known it from the moment the two of them became close. Danny was the brother he had always wanted and although they constantly argued like a married couple, Steve loved every minute of it, and he knew Danny did too. There was something about their friendship that was indescribable; everyone saw it, even strangers who had just met them.

Hearing the doctor say everything that he did made Steve feel even guiltier than he had already been feeling. He didn't want to be uncomfortable around Danny, he didn't want to push his partner away, but he couldn't help it. The memories of that night in the cellar were so vivid and so painful that Steve found it hard to breathe whenever he thought about it.

However, within the last few days, as the drugs had been wearing off, Steve had realized that the memories of that night weren't as painful because he had finally accepted that it wasn't Danny down there saying those things to him. He knew that coming to this realization should of made him happy, should have made him forget and made him want to fix things with Danny, but he still couldn't understand why he had made all of that up in his head, why he had hallucinated Danny betraying him and why he couldn't get rid of this knot in his stomach whenever he saw Danny.

Steve sighed, he hated this, he hated what he was doing to their friendship, what he was doing to Danny, but he didn't know how to fix it.

**TBC...**


	16. Clarity

**Chapter 16**

The next morning Chin showed up alone and Steve actually found himself feeling a little disappointed that Danny wasn't there.

"Hey Steve,"

"Hey Chin, where's Kono and Danny?"

Chin smiled.

"They had to go meet up with Max for a case, so just me this morning, hope you're not too disappointed," Chin joked.

"Of course not," Steve smiled.

"How you feeling brah," Chin sat down in the chair beside Steve's bed.

"I'm good, feeling better each day, how's work been?"

"It's been good, a little busy, we have a few cases right now but nothing we can't handle," Chin smiled and then went quiet as if he was thinking about something. Steve didn't miss this.

"Something on your mind Chin?" Steve looked intently at Chin knowing there was something he wanted to talk about.

Chin took a moment and then looked up at Steve.

"Uh...yeah...Steve what's going on with you and Danny?" Chin knew but he wanted to hear it in Steve's own words.

Steve went quiet, and Chin waited patiently knowing that Steve was trying to collect his thoughts.

"I don't know Chin, some stuff happened in that cellar when Wo Fat had drugged me, well at least I thought certain things happened and even though I know now that they didn't, that Danny wasn't actually there, I just..." Steve didn't know how to explain this to Chin, how do you explain a feeling that you can't quite understand yourself? How was he supposed to explain that he was pushing Danny away for something Danny didn't even do?

"And you just can't understand why you're still hurting over something you hallucinated," Chin finished his sentence for him.

Steve looked at Chin, thankful that he seemed to understand.

"Yeah..."

"Yeah...I've heard what mescaline can do to someone, that's some nasty stuff." Chin paused and then looked at Steve.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am for everything that you had to go through, from being set up again to what Wo Fat did to you...I can't even imagine what that must have been like," Chin shook his head and then continued.

"I also don't know what it is that you hallucinated down in that cellar, what you thought "Danny" had said to you, but Steve, man Danny was a mess the entire time you were missing. The only other time we had seen him like that was when Gracie was kidnapped."

Steve was listening intently.

"Leaving you in that warehouse killed him. He wasn't sleeping at all, he practically lived at the office, working around the clock. We had a lot of leads but none of them ever panned out, except the last one of course. And every time one of those leads fell through, Danny spiralled. I was honestly worried that if we didn't find you, we would've lost him too. He had changed while you were gone, he was so different, it was almost like he was a robot." Chin cringed as he thought about Danny's state of mind a few days ago.

"And when we found you, and you were alive, I could almost see the weight being lifted off of Danny. And at the hospital he wouldn't leave your side the entire time you were in a coma."

"Yeah, Dr. Connor had mentioned that yesterday," Steve gave Chin a small smile.

"Yeah, he practically lived here, sleeping in this chair every night, talking to you all day, hoping he could get through to you somehow. I think the staff here was scared to even suggest to him that he go home and sleep," Chin laughed and Steve followed suit. He could imagine a worried Danny; you can't tell a worried Danny what to do. Steve then looked up at the ceiling, letting everything that Chin was saying sink in. Steve then realized that he never really got the details on how they had found him.

"Chin, how did you guys find me? I mean I know the tip was from Matt's friend in prison but what happened when you got to the house?"

Chin smiled knowing his answer to this question would further prove to Steve how connected him and Danny were, how strong their friendship was.

Chin started by explaining to Steve how Danny was the reason that they actually found him.

"We were all ready to leave, we were sure that you weren't there. We had checked every room, every inch of that house, or so we thought. Danny wouldn't leave though, he was so sure that you were there. At first we all thought that he was just grabbing onto straws because that was the first solid lead we had received, but we soon realized how wrong we were. I don't know how he knew Steve, it was like he felt you there, it was the strangest thing man, I can't even explain it. We were all telling Danny that it was time to go, hell even I was getting a little frustrated at his stubbornness and his refusal to not leave that place. But man is it a good thing your partner is as stubborn as he is. Danny realized that one of the floor board he was stepping on was hollow. When we lifted it up and the other boards around it, we found the pathway leading to the room where you were being held. If it wasn't for Danny, we would've left that house and they could've moved you and we would've never found you."

Steve sat there, his heart racing; Danny was the reason he was alive.

Steve had no idea that what he had just heard would be nothing compared to the next few things Chin was about to tell him.

"He arrested Matt you know..." Chin looked at Steve and smiled at Steve's reaction, it was the reaction he was hoping to see.

Steve's eyes went big.

"What..."

"Yeah, Danny, Lou, and I got here while you were still in surgery. Once you were out Danny was the first to see you and since you were only allowed one visitor at the time Kono and I went to grab coffee. When we got back he was putting Matt in handcuffs and reading him his rights."

Steve was speechless; never in a million years would he have thought that Danny would arrest his own brother. He couldn't imagine how painful that must have felt.

Chin could see that Steve was at a loss for words and decided to continue.

"Danny was stone cold, he felt no remorse for Matt, didn't care what Matt had to say, all he cared about was you. He had just come out of your room and I guess seeing you hooked up to all those machines, bruised and battered just pushed him over the edge. After that I took Matt to the precinct and Danny stayed here with you...I never thought I would say this, didn't think I would ever believe it, but I actually think Danny hates Matt, I don't think he's ever going to be able to forgive him for what he did to you."

Chin looked at Steve hoping that all of this was sinking in, that all of this information would make Steve see that those hallucinations had meant nothing, that they were just cruel effects of the drug that in no way reflected his and Danny's relationship. Chin smiled as he could see that he was getting through to Steve.

"I can't believe he arrested him, that's his baby brother," Steve was still shocked.

"You're his brother too Steve, don't ever forget that," Chin smiled, and then decided to tell Steve the biggest news of all.

"There's more Steve..."

Steve looked at Chin and was sure that whatever Chin was about to say couldn't top what he just heard.

He was about to find out how very wrong he was.

"Danny was the one who killed Wo Fat..."

Steve was sure his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He looked away from Chin trying to calm his racing heart, his mind spinning. He wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Chin continued.

"As the paramedics were taking you away Danny saw Wo Fat near the house, we went back in to look for him and Danny found him in the cellar...well actually he found Danny."

Steve's heart stopped for a second.

"Is that how Danny got that nasty black eye?"

"Yeah, from what I heard the two of them exchanged blows back and forth and then Wo Fat managed to get Danny on his back and had his gun aimed at his head,"

That's not what Steve wanted to hear, the thought of Wo Fat coming even close to killing Danny...

Chin could see the worry on Steve's face and decided he should finish his story quickly.

"But Danny managed to grab his gun in time and put two bullets in Wo Fat's head. By the time I ran down there I saw Wo Fat on the ground with a pool of blood around him," Chin smiled as he remembered the scene.

"I..."

Steve was speechless yet again. Danny had killed Wo Fat. Danny had made sure that Wo Fat would never torture him again, never hurt him or anyone he loved, ever again. Steve felt numb; he couldn't think straight and suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired.

Chin seemed to pick up on this.

"I know it's a lot to process Steve, and I'm sorry to lay it all on you at once. You just really needed to know what this last week has been like for Danny, I know it was hell for you and like I said I can't imagine what you went through, but I know what Danny went through. Kono and I witnessed it firsthand. He needs you just as much as you need him, you both need to heal from this, and you need each other to do it." Chin stood up off the chair.

"Rest up brah, I'll come by after shift okay. And Steve...just think about what I said okay."

Steve just looked up at Chin, still unable to speak.

As he watched Chin walk away, Steve was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Danny had been to hell and back since Steve had been kidnapped. Danny had had to make the heart wrenching choice between saving his baby brother and saving Steve and deal with the aftermath of that choice, he had arrested his own brother, killed Wo Fat, saved Steve, watched Steve flat-line, watched him be revived, and then finally when everything was said and done, Steve had put the nail in his coffin by rejecting him for something he didn't even do.

Steve shook his head, _what had he done..._

* * *

It was around 6:30pm, Steve had just finished eating his dinner and was waiting for his team to come by after shift like they normally did.

Steve's conversation with Chin earlier on in the day was still playing through his mind. He was so angry at himself for allowing Wo Fat to continue ruining his life, even after he was dead. He was sick of it and had decided right when Chin left that he needed to talk to Danny, he needed to apologize and fix things. He would work through his hallucinations but he would do it with his best friend by his side.

Steve leaned his head back on the pillow, for the first time since he woke up he was truly and honestly excited to see Danny. The waiting was killing him so he thought he would take a nap until they came.

As Steve began to close his eyes a sudden onslaught of memories hit him. Steve was back in the cellar as "Danny" was saying those horrible things to him. Steve cringed; he was really hoping that now that he had accepted that it wasn't Danny, that these memories wouldn't affect him as much. The words cut deep, just like the first time he heard them, but as the memories kept coming and as "Danny" kept talking, Steve started to notice something; "Danny" wasn't Danny after all. His face started to change and after a few seconds Steve realized that he was staring at Wo Fat, not Danny.

Steve's eyes snapped open and he was breathing heavy.

_It was Wo Fat._

Bit by bit that entire memory was being pieced back together and Steve was now staring at Wo Fat saying all those horrible things to him, not Danny. He couldn't believe that he had never thought of that before. Of course Wo Fat would pretend to be Danny, it all made sense now.

As much as Steve hated Wo Fat for pretending to be Danny, he was filled with a sudden sense of overflowing joy; he wasn't completely losing it, he didn't have to try and get over the fact that he heard "Danny" say all those terrible things to him, he didn't have to try and figure out why he hallucinated Danny betraying him and saying the things he said, he knew why now.

He had wanted Danny there, had wanted Danny to save him so he imagined him in that cellar. Wo Fat took advantage of that and turned something good into something horrible. The minute he heard Steve say Danny's name he knew how to use the situation to his advantage, he knew the best way to hurt Steve.

Steve's heart was racing, he needed to call Danny, he needed to hear his voice, needed to apologize for everything.

As Steve reached over to the table to pick up his phone, he heard the door to his room open, and sure enough there he was; his partner, his best friend, his brother.

"Danny..." Steve had so much to say right before Danny had walked in but in that moment with Danny standing right in front of him, words seemed to fail him.

Danny saw Steve's shocked expression and assumed that Steve was unhappy to see him, so he rushed to give him an explanation.

"Hey, sorry for just showing up without letting you know, I wasn't going to come but there's someone here who really wants to see you," Danny stepped aside as Grace went running towards Steve.

"Uncle Steve!"

Steve had never seen the little girl run so fast and he couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.

"Hey Gracie, boy is it good to see you!"

Grace carefully climbed up onto Steve's bed as Steve scooched over.

"Monkey be careful, Uncle Steve has a lot of wires and..."

"It's okay Danno, I'm good" Steve smiled at him.

_Danno._

Danny was taken aback by that endearing nickname, that was solely meant to be used by Steve and Grace, that he didn't know what to say. Steve had clearly just slipped up and said it without thinking. Yeah...that must have been it.

"Uh, I'm going to go grab some food, I'll come get Grace in a little bit," Danny was out the door before Steve could tell him to stay.

Steve sighed but figured when Danny came back he could talk to him then. He turned all his attention to the beautiful little girl sitting cross legged beside him.

"How do you feel Uncle Steve?"

"A lot better Gracie, especially now that you're here."

Grace giggled.

"You know Grace, the doctors told me that I woke up a few minutes after you spoke to me on the phone, they said that hearing your voice got through to me and made me wake up."

Steve smiled as the little girl's eyes went wide.

"I helped you get better Uncle Steve?"

"You sure did baby, you helped me wake up, and I'll find a way to re-pay you for that," he smiled as he took Grace's hand in his.

"Can we go to the aquarium and get ice cream?"

Steve laughed.

"We can do anything you want Gracie"

Grace smiled and then looked at her Uncle Steve's hand, her face suddenly going solemn.

"I was really scared Uncle Steve," she looked up at Steve with tears in her eyes and so much pain that it took Steve's breath away.

"First you went missing, and I kept telling Danno that it would be okay, that he was going to find you because Danno always finds you."

Steve smiled, Danny did always manage to find him.

"And then Danno found you but you were hurt really bad and Danno said you were in a coma. I didn't know what that meant and I didn't want to ask Danno because he seemed so sad so I googled it."

Steve smiled again. "You googled it huh?"

"Yeap! And it was scary, but I kept telling Danno that you would wake up because I just knew you would Uncle Steve, I knew you wouldn't leave me or Danno, because we're you're family and you knew how sad we would be if you didn't wake up."

Steve's eyes instantly filled with tears. They _were_ his family; Danny and Grace were everything to him. As he looked at Grace he saw how much she truly loved him and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he loved Grace as much as he would if she were his own.

Grace spent the next few minutes talking to Steve about how worried she was but how she tried to be brave. She then filled him in on school and everything that had been happening for the last week. Finally, she had one last thing to talk to her Uncle Steve about.

"Can I tell you a secret Uncle Steve, but you have to promise not to tell Danno," this got Steve's attention.

"Of course Gracie, you can tell me anything."

Grace looked at her hands and then looked at Steve.

"When you went missing, Danno didn't come home for a few days, but then finally he did come home one day and when he fell asleep I heard him screaming in the living room, he was having a nightmare about you Uncle Steve."

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I woke up and went to talk to him and let him know that you were going to be okay and that Danno would find you. And then Danno told me I should go to bed so I told him I would but I didn't."

"How come Gracie?"

Grace's eyes filled with tears and Steve knew this was going to be bad.

"After I closed my bedroom door I heard the bathroom door closing and knew that Danno had gone in there so I came back out."

Grace paused, almost as if she was composing herself to tell Steve the next part.

"I tip-toed over to the bathroom and I heard Danno crying and not just a little cry, it was the loud really sad kind. I had only heard him cry once before and that was when him and mommy got a divorce, but he didn't cry as much then as he did this time around. It made me really sad Uncle Steve, Danno was really really sad, he couldn't stop crying."

Steve felt numb, he knew he should say something to make Grace feel better but he couldn't speak. It broke his heart to think of Danny like that, and the guilt he felt at avoiding Danny the last few days multiplied tenfold. He couldn't believe that, drugged or not, he would ever doubt how much Danny loved him. He felt like the biggest ass in the world for making Danny feel like he had done something wrong when he had done _everything_ right. No one had ever loved him or cared about him the way that Danny did, outside of his immediate family (but even they were questionable at times). And despite everything he had gone through, Danny had gone through much worse over the last week and Steve was piling on more hurt and more pain, when he should have been helping Danny get through it all.

Steve zoned back in when he heard Grace speaking.

"I didn't want him to know I was listening, I didn't want him to feel embarrassed, so I went back into my bedroom before Danno came out. I looked at the clock though and I stayed awake until I heard Danno open the bathroom door, he was in there for an hour Uncle Steve."

Steve's heart broke for Danny and Grace.

"Gracie, I'm so sorry that you and Danno had to go through that," he pulled her close to him and hugged her against his chest. She snuggled in, wanting to be consoled by her Uncle Steve.

"And I'm sorry for everything that happened to you Uncle Steve; it must have been really scary."

Steve smiled. For a little girl Grace was mature beyond her years and the size of her heart took his breath away, she had so much love inside of her.

"It was scary Gracie, but you were right, Danno found me and he brought me back home to you and him; my family," he kissed the top of Grace's head.

"I love you so much Uncle Steve, just like I love Danno."

Steve's eyes filled with tears.

"I love you too Gracie, so much."

As the two of them stayed snuggled in Steve's bed, neither of them had realized that Danny had been standing outside the room the entire time. Danny never had to get food; he just didn't want to make Steve feel uncomfortable by staying in the room.

Danny had tears in his eyes from everything Grace had said. She loved Steve so much. He also couldn't believe that she had been awake the entire time he was crying, worried about him. When had his little girl grown up so much. He felt horrible that she had to witness that and even more horrible that she had to be the strong one; that was Danny's job. He also couldn't believe what a big heart she had; Grace definitely was his greatest accomplishment in life.

Danny had heard everything that Steve had said too, how him and Grace were his family. As much as he wanted to believe it he was sure that Steve was only saying that to make Grace happy, to not break Grace's heart.

Danny took a deep breath and walked into the room.

"Hey..." he saw that both of them had their eyes closed, and if he hadn't been standing outside the door this entire time he would've thought for sure that they were sleeping.

"Hey Danny..." Steve opened his eyes first.

"Hi Danno"

"Monkey we should probably get going, Uncle Steve needs to rest okay,"

Grace pouted but agreed.

"Okay Danno," she then turned to Steve, "can I come see you tomorrow Uncle Steve?"

"You better!" Steve hugged her tightly.

Danny tried to control the tightness in his chest.

Grace got off the bed slowly and walked towards Danny. Danny looked at Steve.

"I'll bring her by tomorrow then," Danny forced a smile as he turned towards the door. He hated how formal things had gotten between him and Steve.

Steve didn't want Danny to leave.

"Danny, wait"

Danny turned around confused as to why Steve was even talking to him.

"Uh...is Amber at your place?"

Danny looked at Steve, not knowing where this was going.

"Yeah"

Steve nodded.

"Good...uh, maybe you could drop Grace off and come back? It gets pretty lonely here at night and I heard you were great at keeping me company when I first got here," Steve smiled, not knowing what kind of reaction he would get out of Danny.

Danny just stood there and stared at Steve. He couldn't be hearing correctly, was he hallucinating too?

"Danno, you have to stay, remember we said we never leave family, and Uncle Steve is our family."

Danny looked down at Grace and smiled still confused as to what Steve was asking him. It was a pretty simple question but why was Steve asking _him _to stay when he had not wanted anything to do with Danny for the last few days, what had changed?

"So this is what that moment must feel like when you propose to someone and you're waiting for their answer," Steve joked.

_Why is he joking around, what the hell is going on?_

Steve could see that he wasn't getting through to Danny and he couldn't blame him, after everything that had happened and after Steve had kept pushing him away. But he had to get through to him; he needed to talk to Danny.

"Danny...please?"

That did it. That snapped Danny out of his trance. Steve was asking him to come back, to spend time with him.

"Yeah, of course Steve...uh...I'll drop Gracie off, grab a change of clothes and head back here,"

"Great," Steve smiled at him.

"Yeah...uh...i'll see you in a little bit,"

"Sounds good Danno, see you soon,"

With that Danny turned around and headed out of Steve's room. For the first time in a week, Danny was able to breathe and he felt the vice grip around his heart begin to loosen.

Maybe finding their way back to each other wasn't going to take as long as Danny had thought.

**TBC...**


	17. Opening the Flood Gates

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the wait, Labour Day weekend's been super busy so didn't have time to update for the last few days. Once again thank you all for the love and comments for the last two chapters. Here's the next one :). Enjoy!**

**Chapter 17**

His mind was racing a mile a minute.

"_...maybe you could drop Grace off and come back? It gets pretty lonely here at night and I heard you were great at keeping me company when I first got here."_

"_So this is what that moment must feel like when you propose to someone and you're waiting for their answer."_

The whole way home Danny had been obsessing about what Steve might say to him, why Steve had asked for him to come back, why Steve had been joking around with him. And now, as he was driving back to the hospital, he found himself less curious and more concerned.

Did Steve still think that he had been down in the cellar with him? Would he still have to convince Steve that it wasn't him who had said all those horrible things to him when he was drugged? And even if he did manage to convince Steve, would their relationship ever go back to the way it was?

The last week had taken its toll on not only Steve but Danny as well. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, Danny felt like he was at his breaking point and he feared that if this conversation with Steve didn't go well that he would retreat to a very dark place.

Danny shook his head and took a deep breath. He was running on fumes and had been for a while now. He thought that once they found Steve he would be able to finally breathe, to finally feel a sense of normalcy again, but it had been the opposite. Finding Steve in that condition, both physically and mentally, was the start of a whole new version of hell for Danny. Never in a million years would he have thought that the following days after finding Steve alive would be so mentally and emotionally draining and heartbreaking.

Danny thought back to the last few days of work. He remembered going in, he remembered working on the cases, but it seemed as though he was just going through the motions, not really taking a second to feel anything. Working cases without Steve only reminded him of how royally screwed up everything was, and how much he missed having Steve around. It hurt, everyone could see that Danny was different, that Danny was not happy, but there was nothing they could do about it, and there was nothing Danny could do about it.

But maybe all of that would change today...or maybe not.

Danny didn't want to get his hopes up, these last few days had left him jaded and he was scared to think optimistically, he didn't think he could stand another disappointment.

* * *

Danny turned into the parking lot of the hospital and found a spot close to the entrance of the emergency ward.

He turned the ignition off and just sat in the car for a few minutes. Never in a million years would he have thought he would be so nervous to see his partner. From the minute he had met Steve he'd felt a level of comfort with him that he hadn't with anyone else. Sure they didn't start of good terms but even then he had never been nervous or anxious around Steve, not like this. But Danny knew the nerves were due to knowing how important this conversation with his partner was going to be.

Finally, Danny took a deep breath and stepped out of his car and walked into the hospital.

He stood outside Steve's door for what seemed like an eternity. A part of him wanted to go in and see why Steve had asked him to come back and the other part of him wanted to run in the opposite direction and protect his heart from possibly further breaking. But he knew he couldn't turn away now, Steve had asked him to come, _pleaded_ with him to come back and there was no way Danny could ever say no to that. So with shaky hands Danny turned the handle on Steve's door.

The minute Danny walked into Steve's room he froze in horror. Steve was gone. The bed was made, the machines were gone, and Steve...Steve wasn't there.

A sudden wave of nausea hit Danny as he frantically ran out of the room towards a nurse.

"Where's Steve...he was there an hour ago, I was just here, wher- "

"Whoa Detective, calm down, your partner's okay," a petite brunette nurse placed a calming hand on Danny's arm.

All the colour returned to Danny's face.

"Oh thank god," Danny looked up to the ceiling. "Where is he?"

"We moved him out of ICU into a normal room since his condition has improved a lot, he's in room 426 just around that corner," the nurse was pointing behind Danny.

Danny thanked the nurse and headed to Steve's new room.

As he walked into Steve's room he could see that Steve had been taken off of a lot of the machines he had been on in the ICU. He was only hooked to a few now and was sitting up in his bed. Steve's head snapped towards Danny when he heard the door open.

"Hey Danno," Steve had a big smile across his face.

"Hey," Danny forced a smile as he headed towards Steve.

"You came back..."

Danny froze on spot as a sudden wave of panic washed over him.

"Yeah, you asked me to...do you want me to go?"

_Wait...did I just imagine Steve asking me to come back?_

"What? No of course not Danno, I just wasn't sure if you were actually going to come back."

_Oh thank god._

"Why wouldn't I come back?" Danny took a seat in the chair but kept eye contact with Steve.

"I don't know, with everything that's happened, I just...I don't know," Steve didn't know why he felt so nervous.

"Yeah..." Danny's heart sank. _Everything that's happened_. Danny sat there staring at the ground as _everything _came rushing back to him.

Steve looked at Danny and his heart broke. For the first time since he had woken up he actually took a proper look at his partner. Danny looked terrible. The bruises on his face from his fight with Wo Fat were starting to heal but Danny's entire face seemed to have sunk in a bit. He looked exhausted and frail like he hadn't eaten in days, his eyes had dark circles around them, his hands were shaky, and his posture was that of someone who had been mentally and emotionally beaten down.

Steve thought back to everything Danny had been through in the last week: finding out Matt had set a trap for him, having to leave him at Wo Fat's mercy, finding him in that cellar alive, killing Wo Fat, seeing him hooked up to all those machines in the hospital, arresting Matt, watching him flat-line, not leaving his side when he was placed in a medically induced coma, and then finally waking up only to be rejected by him.

Steve could see the emotional scars of the last week etched all over Danny's face, and he cursed himself for being the cause of a lot of it.

"Danny...I'm so sorry." Sorry didn't even seem enough, sorry seemed like a poor excuse of an apology, but it was all he could think of at the moment.

Danny looked up at Steve not believing what he just heard, had Steve really just apologized to _him_?

"Steve you have _nothing_ to be sorry for, I should be the one apologizing to you."

"For what? You did nothing wrong Danny."

Danny scoffed.

"Really Steve? Well let's see here, _my_ brother was the one who set you up, _I_ left you in the hands of Wo Fat, and _my_ voice is the one you think you heard in that cellar saying all those awful things to you..."

Steve looked at him incredulously.

"How is ANY of that your fault? You're not responsible for Matt's actions, those are his and his alone, you left me with Wo Fat because you didn't have a choice he was going to kill Matt and I told you to go because _I_ didn't want Matt's blood on my hands, and those things I thought I heard you saying, I know now it wasn't you, it was Wo Fat."

This caught Danny's attention as his eyes shot to Steve.

"It was Wo Fat? Because he gave you the drugs that made you hallucinate?"

Steve shook his head.

"No Danny, I didn't hallucinate you there, well I did, I hallucinated your face and voice but Wo Fat was egging me on."

Steve could see that Danny was more confused than ever so he continued.

"When I was down in that cellar all I kept thinking about, all I kept hoping for, was that you were going to find me. After Wo Fat drugged me, I was messed up man, and at some point when I had regained consciousness I heard someone open the door and come into the cellar, and I thought it was you."

Danny could see the pain in Steve's eyes; he was reliving a moment Danny didn't want him to relive. As much as he wanted an explanation, wanted to know what had happened down there, he didn't want Steve to go through any more pain.

"Steve, it's okay, we don't have to do this right now..."

After a brief moment, Steve composed himself and continued.

"I want to...I need to..."

Danny looked into Steve's eyes and he understood, he understood perfectly. So he just nodded his head and let Steve continue.

"Wo Fat walked in front of me and I didn't see him, I saw you. I'm sure he was coming back to torture me some more..."

Danny flinched at that thought.

"...but I guess when he heard the next words out of my mouth he decided to torture me in another way."

Danny couldn't move, he felt like he couldn't breathe, he knew the next few minutes were going to be gut-wrenching and he almost wished he could just cover his ears and not hear it, but he had to, he had to know what happened down there that made Steve act the way he did.

Steve started to tell Danny exactly what had happened after that.

_"D-anny...you found me."_

_"Yes I found you."_

_"How? How d-id you k-now to look here?"_

_"Wo Fat told me..."_

_"W-hat...w-hy would he,"_

_"You don't think Matt set you up on his own do you?"_

_"Y-you set me up..."_

_"Matt could never pull something like this off on his own, he needed my help"_

_"B-but why...why would you set me up?" _

_"I needed to help him Steve, he's my baby brother, I couldn't let those goons kill him, he needed the money that Wo Fat was going to give him for turning you over."_

_"I didn't want to do it Steve, I didn't want to turn you over, but I didn't have a choice, it was either you or Matt."_

_"You told me in the warehouse that it wasn't worth it to save you over Matt, and you were right, it wasn't, Matt's family, he'll always come first."_

_"You understand right Steve, you know how important family is...not that you really have one seeing as your dad's dead, your mom is god knows where, and your sister lives in another state."_

_"Steve I'm really sorry, but I had to, just like Jenna had to, even though her fiancé ended up being dead. But regardless, it was for the same reason, to save someone we love. At the end of the day, Matt is my family, you're just my partner."_

_"J-just your partner?_

_"Yea Steve, you're just my partner, I can get a new partner but I can't get a new brother, I really am sorry."_

_"Dan-danny, please...don't leave me here"_

Danny's heart broke, everything Steve had just told him and the anguish in Steve's eyes were too much for him to handle. He felt like someone had just sucker-punched him.

"God Steve...I don't even know what to say." He understood now, he understood why Steve had looked so hurt whenever he looked at him, why Steve couldn't bear to look at him, Danny knew if the roles were reversed he would have had the same reaction. He knew how strong mescaline was, especially in high doses, and after everything Steve had gone through up until that point, to think that Steve saw him and heard him say all those terrible things to him, his heart shattered even thinking about it.

_Not just partners?_

It was all starting to make sense now, why Steve had asked him that; he needed affirmation that Danny cared about him, that he meant more to Danny than just being his partner.

Danny ran a shaky hand over his face and stopped when his hand was over his mouth. He shook his head in disgust.

"I can't even imagine what that was like, I just –" Danny couldn't find the words.

"That's why I acted the way I did Danno, I was confused, the drugs messed me up real bad and I didn't know what to believe. I remembered you in the warehouse, I remembered you when you saved me, but then I would remember "you" in the cellar and man...I couldn't shake it, I'm sorry Danny..."

"Don't apologize Steve, please don't apologize, I don't blame you for the way you reacted, after everything you went through..."

Danny and Steve sat there in silence for a few minutes. Steve knew that Danny needed some time to process everything, as hard as it was for Steve to tell Danny what happened in the cellar, he knew it was equally as hard, if not harder for Danny to hear it.

"How did you remember? When did you realize it wasn't me?" Danny looked back up at Steve.

"Right before you and Gracie came in, I was actually about to pick up my phone to call you to tell you to come to the hospital cause I had remembered everything but then you walked in with Gracie."

"Oh...right."

"I wanted to talk to you before I even remembered though, I felt bad for the way I had been treating you, I had known deep down that it hadn't been you saying all that stuff but I was confused as to why I would hallucinate_ that_, why I hallucinated you saying all those things to me. But the doc and Chin both told me what you had been going through for the past week and I felt terrible Danny, you had gone through hell and I was making it worse."

Danny shook his head.

"It's not on you to make me feel better Steve, you have enough going on..."

"Of course it's on me Danny, you're my best friend, and I think that simple fact that you're more than my partner finally broke through all the confusion and pain. Before I even remembered that it was Wo Fat in that cellar I wanted to make things right with you, I knew that in time I would be able to realize that what happened in the cellar was just a hallucination and we would work past it."

Danny smiled; he was relieved that even if Steve hadn't remembered exactly what had happened that he had wanted to fix things with him.

Now that the cellar mystery was out of the way he had an important question to ask Steve, one that he needed to know the answer to.

Danny looked up at Steve.

"Leaving you in that warehouse was the hardest thing I've ever had to do...you know that right..." Danny prayed that Steve knew, prayed that he didn't think Danny had abandoned him in any way.

Steve's eyes went wide.

"Danny of course I know that! You didn't want to leave me there anymore than I would've wanted to leave you."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief and nodded his head but Steve continued.

"You forget how well I know you Danno; I can read you like a book, it was written all over your face. You know, when Wo Fat gave you that ultimatum my heart broke and not because Matt had betrayed me or because I knew you were going to have to leave me there, but because I knew that no matter what was about to happen to me, it wouldn't even compare to hell you were going to go through having to leave me there. I haven't been where you were but I can't even imagine having to choose between you and Mary."

Danny choked up, he was grateful that Steve understood, but all the feelings of that day came rushing back.

"It killed me Steve; walking away from you...leaving you with _him_" he looked up at Steve with tears in his eyes and then quickly shook his head and covered his face with his hands to stop the tears from pooling over.

"It's okay Danno, let it out man," Steve reached over and squeezed Danny's shoulder.

Danny felt stupid, Steve was the one who had gone through an ordeal, he did not need to be taking care of Danny right now.

Danny wiped his hands down his face.

"I'm good Steve, really." Danny tried to sound convincing but Steve didn't buy it for a second.

"No you're not Danno, dude you look terrible – "

"Gee thanks," Danny smiled

"You know what I mean," Steve smiled back. "You need to talk to someone Danny, from everything I've heard, you've been running on fumes and if you don't let it out you're going to crash and burn man, I don't want to see that."

Danny knew Steve was right. He could feel everything inside threatening to boil over, but Steve was in no condition to play therapist.

"We can talk later Steve, you need to rest..."

"Danny all I've been doing is resting man, I'm fine...doctor say I'm recovering faster than they expected."

Danny let out a little laugh, "Why does that not surprise me?"

Steve smiled, "Cause I'm awesome and you know it?"

Danny laughed and shook his head. Steve was awesome, and he had come that close to losing him.

Steve saw the immediate change in Danny's demeanor and knew he needed to get Danny to talk.

"Danny...talk to me man, please, this isn't healthy, you can't keep this all bottled inside," Steve was looking at Danny with pleading eyes.

Danny could hear the desperation in Steve's voice, and as much as he wanted to save this conversation for another day, he knew Steve wasn't going to drop it and if Danny was being honest with himself, he didn't know how much longer he could carry the weight of the last week.

He finally cracked.

"This last week sucked," he looked like he was staring a hole through Steve's mattress; he couldn't make eye contact with Steve because he knew he would break down.

"I know Danno..." Steve felt for the man, the tone in those four little words said it all, Danny was spent.

"I honestly think it was the worst week of my life, the only other time I can remember feeling that broken was when Grace was kidnapped."

Steve nodded remembering what Chin had told him,

_Danny was a mess the entire time you were missing. The only other time we had seen him like that was when Gracie was kidnapped._

Steve had remembered what Danny had been like during that time, and it broke his heart that he went through the same despair while Steve had been missing.

Steve stayed silent knowing that Danny just needed to get this all off his chest.

"I can't believe that Matt set you up, that he set a trap for you for money...money," Danny shook his head. "God Steve, you had already been betrayed and set up by Jenna, and now Matt...if it was _anybody_ else I would've let them get shot and taken you out of there, hell I even considered it with Matt."

Steve noticed how Danny wasn't calling his brother "Matty" anymore.

"Leaving you there..." Danny choked up and Steve wanted to tell him that it was okay, that he didn't need to continue, but he knew that Danny needed this, needed to finally talk to someone.

"...it broke something in me. When we locked eyes before I walked out of the warehouse...I honestly thought that that might be the last time I ever saw you..."

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"And then when we were outside, all I wanted to do was turn around and run back in there, and then I heard..." Danny choked up as he remembered hearing Steve scream from inside the warehouse.

Steve knew exactly what Danny had heard, when it had happened he had been afraid that Danny was going to hear it, he tried his best not to scream out in pain for that reason alone.

"It wasn't so bad Danny, he just kicked me in the ribs and they were already bruised and the scream just kind of came out, I've had way worse."

Danny shook his head. He knew Steve was trying to make him feel better, and as much as he appreciated it, it just reminded him of how much pain Steve had already endured during his short life.

"Wo Fat's goons were standing outside with guns, and they were going to kill us if we didn't leave so we got in the car and drove just out of their eyesight and I called for backup. I wanted to leave Matt there and come back for you right away but I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against all of them, and I couldn't risk getting you killed, so I waited for back up."

"That was a good choice Danny, I'd never be able to live with myself if I had lost you because you came back to save me."

Danny nodded.

"I completely lost it on Matt in the car, while we were waiting for backup. I don't think I've ever hated someone so much in my life, besides Peterson and Wo Fat."

Steve couldn't believe that Danny was comparing his little brother to the psycho who had kidnapped Grace and the evil that was Wo Fat.

"Danny, you don't mean that, he's your little brother," surely Danny was just speaking out of anger.

Danny shook his head.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're the only brother I have now."

Steve looked at Danny and the look in Danny's eyes almost took his breath away...he knew right then and there that Danny meant every word.

"Danny..."

"Don't Steve, don't defend him or make excuses, he doesn't deserve it," Danny raised his voice as his anger was boiling over. "He was going to hand you over to Wo Fat and never mention anything to anybody about it! I would've been going insane looking for you and he would've let me, just so he could keep the money," Danny shook his head in disgust.

"You don't know that Danny, he may have changed his mind once he saw how upset you were, once he saw – " Steve stopped mid sentence as he saw the look Danny was giving him, and he knew now was not the time to try and repair Danny and Matt's relationship. To be honest Steve wasn't Matt's biggest fan either, but he knew how close Danny and Matt had been their entire lives, and he didn't want Danny to have to lose that. However, he knew that no one was as loyal as Danny, which meant that the damage Matt caused by setting him up may be something Danny could never forgive or forget.

"You're too good of a person you know that? And people like Jenna, like Matt, they have no problem taking advantage of that for their own personal gain, and I'm sick of it," Danny was angry but Steve could see the pain laced underneath as well. Danny took a deep breath and Steve gave him a few moments to collect his thoughts.

"We had so many leads within those 3 days that you were gone, and every single time I'd get my hopes up only to be crushed when the lead fell through. I slept at the office, working around the clock trying to find anything to point us in the right direction, most of the time we were literally working off nothing,"

"I can't imagine how frustrating that must've been," Steve empathized.

"It sucked, every minute we went without a clue was a minute you were probably being tortured, it was the worst feeling in the world," Danny shook his head remembering exactly how he felt during those days.

"By day two Chin made me go home and sleep. I was a wreck and he said I was no good to them the way I was. He was right, I could barely see straight, or even stand straight at that point."

Steve cringed at the mental picture.

"So I went home and...well...Grace filled you in on the rest of that night," he looked at the ground feeling guilty for listening in on their conversation earlier.

"You heard all that?" Steve had no idea that Danny had been anywhere close to them.

"Yeah, I was outside the room, I lied about getting food, I just didn't think you wanted me around so I left the room."

Steve sighed.

"Danny I'm sor-"

"Would you please stop apologizing?" Danny let a small smile appear on his face. Steve returned the sentiment, but his smile soon faded as he remembered Grace's words.

_...I heard Danno crying and not just a little cry, it was the loud really sad kind. _

_I had only heard him cry once before and that was when him and mommy got a divorce, but he didn't cry as much then as he did this time around. _

_It made me really sad Uncle Steve, Danno was really really sad, he couldn't stop crying._

"That was the first night I actually let everything sink in, I completely lost it Steve," Steve was brought back to the present as Danny spoke. "It felt like I had crawled into a dark hole that I wasn't going to be able to crawl out of. Everything hurt, I just wanted to turn my mind off, I kept thinking about what I would do if we never found you, and let's just say you'd definitely lecture me if you knew the things I came up with. I couldn't cope, I could think straight, I just couldn't handle it. I always knew how important you were to me, but I think it really hit me then how much a part of my life you are. Ever since I moved to this island, you and Grace have been the constants in my life, no matter what else happened around me, you two were always there, you two were always my family, and the thought of losing you..." Danny choked up unable to finish that thought.

Steve was speechless. He didn't know how his heart could be so filled with joy and love and so filled with pain and sorrow at the same time. Hearing how important he was to Danny made him happier than he could ever put into words but hearing how deep into a depression Danny fell, broke his heart.

"Danny...you and Grace mean the world to me too. I've never had that consistent happiness or love in my life, not from family or friends or even girlfriends, it was always a rollercoaster and I never knew where I really stood or what having a constant thing in my life meant, until you and Gracie came along. You guys are the best part of my life, you two mean everything to me and I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that alone Danny, I wish I was there..."

Danny smiled, even though he knew how much him and Grace meant to Steve, it was always nice to hear, especially after the last few days.

"Yeah, I wish you were too cause that would've meant that you weren't with Wo Fat being ..." Danny couldn't finish that sentence as he immediately looked at the ground.

"But you found me Danno, just like Grace said you would," Steve smiled as Danny looked back at him. "Chin told me everything, how they all wanted to leave because they didn't think I was there but you wouldn't listen, you had a feeling I was there, and you were right."

"Yeah...uh Steve, what else did he tell you?" Danny need to know how much of that night Steve knew.

"That _you_ killed Wo Fat..."

"So you know..."

"Yeah and Danny...I can't even...I can't even tell you what that means to me. At first when he told me I was shocked that Wo Fat was actually dead, I didn't believe it. And then when it started to sink in a part of me was a little disappointed that I hadn't killed him, that I hadn't been the one to finally end him...as crazy as that sounds..."

Danny's heart stopped, he was afraid of this, "That doesn't sound crazy at all, I'm sor-".

Steve didn't let Danny to finish that sentence.

"But, sitting here right now, with you, I can honestly say that _you _killing him feels just as good as if I had done it. I almost feel like I was there with you, and I'm so glad that you did it. If anyone else had killed him, a part of me would probably still be a little disappointed, but knowing that it was _you_, I can't tell you how good that feels. He's put you through hell too. He'll never make you go through _all of this_ again, he'll never torture me again, and that's all thanks to you Danno," Steve smiled as he placed his hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny didn't know what to say, as a flood of emotions washed over him.

"You flat-lined you know," Danny didn't know where that came from.

Steve was taken aback by Danny's sudden change in demeanor. It seemed like the flood gates were opened and Danny just needed to get it all off his chest.

"I know Danny, the doctor told me. He told me that when he was trying to revive me he felt like he was trying to save two lives instead of one." Steve smiled, he knew it wasn't a smiling matter but the fact that it was so evident to people how close him and Danny were warmed his heart.

"He said that?" Danny looked up at Steve.

"Yeah, seems like you really scared a lot of people," Steve smiled at Danny but his smile disappeared when he heard how broken Danny sounded.

"You really scared me..." Danny said it so quietly that if Steve hadn't been listening intently he would've probably missed it, but he was, and his heart broke at how young Danny sounded.

"I know buddy, I'm sorry."

"I'm so sick of you having to pay the price for being a good person, first it was North Korea, then Afghanistan, and now this...it's not fair..."

Steve agreed, it wasn't fair, but what hurt him more than anything was how much Danny was hurt by him being hurt, but he knew if the roles were reversed he would react the exact same way.

"You're right, it's not fair Danny, but that's life...my life especially, I'm just sorry that you always get caught in the middle of it, it's not fun seeing you like this."

Danny frowned.

"It's not fun seeing _me_ like this? Have you looked at yourself lately? You've been through hell Steve."

"Danny we both know physical scars heal, but the mental ones, the emotional ones...those take time."

Danny shook his head in agreement, knowing that him and Steve both had a lot of mental and emotional scars that they would have to work through.

As Danny was about to say something they heard a knock on the door and both men turned their heads as Dr. Connor walked in.

"Danny, it's nice to see you back next to your partner," Dr. Connor smiled as he walked over to the foot of the bed.

"Yeah, it's nice to be back too," he looked at Steve and Steve smiled.

Dr. Connor smiled and looked from Danny to Steve.

"How are you feeling Commander?"

"Good, a lot better actually, head hurts a bit and my ribs and back are a little sore, but I feel pretty good compared to the last few days."

"Good, the pain you're feeling is completely normal, and it actually looks like we'll most likely be able to discharge you in a few days. We have a few tests to run in the next couple days but if all goes well and you don't have any setbacks, you'll be able to go home on one condition."

"Anything!" Steve was itching to get out of the hospital bed; he had never been good at being a patient.

"Someone needs to be with you at all times for the first week at least."

"Done. He'll stay with me," Danny spoke up before Steve even had a chance to argue with the doctor.

"I had a feeling you would say that Detective," Dr. Connor smiled.

"But Danny all my stuff is at home, I don't want to pack everything up," Steve was so close to whining it almost made Danny laugh.

"Fine, you Neanderthal, I'll move in with you for the week, not like I haven't stayed there before."

Steve smiled. To his surprise he was actually glad that the doctor had ordered this, he needed time with Danny, they still had a lot to talk about, like Danny arresting Matt.

"Great! If all goes well, you guys can be out of here first thing Monday morning."

"Thanks doc," Steve smiled as Dr. Connor headed towards the door.

Danny looked at Steve, "Well, looks like we'll have plenty of time to heal those scars huh," referring to the mental and emotional scars Steve had mentioned right before the doctor had walked in.

Steve smiled, "Yeah, looks like it."

Dr. Connor saw the exchange between the two partners and knew that he had done the right thing. Steve didn't really need someone to be with him at all times for a week straight, but when he had walked into the room and saw that Danny was back he knew that the two of them needed, and deserved, some quality time outside of the hospital. He knew that Steve wasn't the type to ask for help so he just nudged them in the right direction knowing that Danny would take the bait.

He smiled as he turned around and left the room; Steve and Danny were going to be back to their normal selves in no time, he would bet his life on it.

**TBC...**


	18. An Unexpected Return

**Hey everyone! Ah I'm so sorry for the wait :( I got a concussion a few months ago and I was playing tennis 2 weekends ago and my symptoms came back so I had to take a break from writing and couldn't stay up late to write chapters! I felt so terrible you guys have been absolutely amazing, you deserve a new chapter every day! hahaa Anywho I'm back and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :).**

**Chapter 18**

Danny smiled as he looked at a sleeping Steve. The last few days had been good, really good. They had cleared the air and gone back to being "them" which included the constant marriage-like banter.

"_Steven you're not eating a burger, eat the food that the hospital is giving you, they give it to you for a reason."_

"_But it's so gross." _

_Danny shook his head, even Grace wasn't this bad._

"_Look, we'll get you a burger once you're released okay, for now just eat this," Danny pushed the tray closer to Steve._

_Steve gave Danny an annoyed look and mumbled, "Fine, mom."_

* * *

"_That was Chin, he just called to give me an update on a case, they were at a suspect's house but couldn't get in so they had to wait 2 hours for a search warrant, safe to say he was a little annoyed."_

"_He should've just kicked the door in."_

_Danny looked at Steve._

"_Of course you would say that you animal, but thankfully not all of us are as insane as you."_

_Steve smiled._

"_I think you meant to say awesome,"_

"_No...no...I meant insane, I really really meant insane."_

"_You're just jealous," Steve smirked._

"_Uh of what exactly?"_

"_My awesomeness."_

_Danny raised his eyebrow trying not to smile._

"_Okay, you keep telling yourself that."_

"_I will"_

"_Good"_

"_Good yourself."_

"_Grow up Danny."_

"_That's rich coming from you, you're like a 12 year old kid on adrenaline trapped in a man's body."_

"_At least I'm in a man's body..." _

_Danny gave him the death stare._

"_What did you just say?"_

_Steve smiled._

"_Nothing."_

"_Yeah, that's what I thought!"_

* * *

"_What the hell's the matter with you," Danny was speaking with his hands again._

"_What?"_

"_The nurse just told me that you got up in the middle of the night to walk around without even telling anyone or asking anyone for help."_

"_I wanted to walk, I was bored,"_

"_Oh you were bored, the man was bored," Danny looked around the room as if he was talking to an imaginary audience. "You DO NOT try to walk on your own for the first time, are you insane? What if you had fallen?"_

_Steve looked at Danny like he was overreacting._

"_I would've just gotten back up."_

_Danny looked at him incredulously._

"_And what if you COULDN'T get back up?"_

"_I would've asked for help."_

"_What if no one was around to help you?"_

"_Why wouldn't anyone be around to help me, we're in a hospital, the nurses are right outside," Steve stated matter of factly._

_Danny shook his head, Steve's brain was definitely wired differently from the majority of the population._

"_You're impossible you know that?"_

"_That's why you love me," Steve smiled a huge smile._

"_No Steven, that is why I'm starting to get grey hairs and heart palpitations."_

"_You should get that checked out, the heart palpitations, that's not normal."_

_The look on Danny's face made Steve laugh._

"_You're lucky you're in that bed..." Danny threatened._

_Steve just sat there grinning at Danny._

* * *

Danny smiled as he thought back to the last few days. He knew there were still a lot of scars to be healed, both mentally and physically, but he was confident now that they would get through this together.

He looked over at the clock, _7:00am, _Steve would probably still be asleep for another hour or so, so he decided to freshen up and go grab some breakfast.

As Danny was leaving Steve's room he felt his phone vibrate, he looked at the caller ID; Chin.

"Hey Chin, what's going on?"

"Hey Danny, I got some bad news brah. Whoever was asking for Wo Fat's body managed to pull some strings and Max has to release the body tomorrow morning, the funeral's tomorrow at 4:00pm."

Danny froze.

"What!" Danny yelled but quickly lowered his voice as he realized he was still in Steve's room. He stepped out and closed the door behind him as he walked down the hallway to the waiting area.

"How the hell did they manage that?"

"No idea, I just know they did, so..."

_So we need to get Steve in there somehow today._

"Yeah...uh, I'll figure something out, thanks for letting me know Chin."

"Of course Danny, how's Steve doing by the way, any change from yesterday?"

"He's doing amazing actually, he walked yesterday,"

"By himself?"

"It's Steve, what do you think?"

Chin laughed.

"Definitely by himself."

"Not only by himself, but in the middle of the night 'cause wait for it...he got bored," Danny shook his head.

Chin could practically see Danny's eyes rolling through the phone and couldn't help but smirk.

"I'm sure you gave him an earful for that."

"You bet your ass I did, the guy is certifiably insane!"

Chin laughed. "That's why he has you."

"Yeah yeah," Danny rolled his eyes.

And with that the two hung up.

* * *

By the time Danny made it back to Steve's room he was sitting up in bed with his feet hanging over the side.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Danny rushed over to Steve's bed.

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"Why am I yelling at you? Why am I yelling at you?! Maybe because the doctor specifically told you not to try walking again without someone here!"

Steve smiled at Danny's flailing hands.

"Why are you smiling? Is something funny?"

Steve's grin widened.

"You're overreacting again...it's cute."

Danny shook his head in disbelief. This wasn't a joke, Steve just didn't seem to get that.

"Overreacting? You think I'm overreacting? I watched you die Steve, right in front of me, I watched them shock your body to get your heart started again...so no I'm not overreacting when I don't want you to walk without someone by your side and risk hurting yourself or worse!"

The mood changed in the room quickly as the fear in Danny's voice wiped the smile off Steve's face. He knew the difference between "ranting Danny" and "worried Danny" and this was definitely the latter, and he couldn't blame him, after everything Danny had been through in the last week.

"I don't think I could take seeing you like that again man," Danny's sounded so small.

Steve felt horrible.

"I know...I'm sorry Danno, I wasn't thinking."

Danny could hear the sincerity in the apology.

"It's okay; just promise me you'll wait for someone next time."

"I promise," Steve smiled.

Danny stood by Steve as he got off the bed and the two headed outside into the hallway to go for a walk.

After 10 minutes of walking Steve started to get tired and remembering Danny's concerned words from earlier, he decided that he should let Danny know.

"Hey, can we head back, I'm getting a little tired."

Danny looked at Steve appreciatively. He knew how stubborn Steve could be and he was really glad that Steve had taken everything he had said to heart.

"Of course, I wanted to talk to you about something anyway." Danny smiled as he placed a hand on Steve's shoulder.

The two made their way back to Steve's room as Danny helped Steve back into bed.

"What's going on Danny?"

Danny looked at the ground not knowing how to tell Steve but finally deciding just to come right out and say it.

"Someone requested the release of Wo Fat's body, and whoever it is is having a funeral for him..." Danny looked up at Steve.

Danny saw the shocked expression in Steve's eyes as he tried to take in what he had just heard.

"Who..." Steve's eyes went wide as he realized who it could possibly be. "His dad..."

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"That's what Chin and I were thinking too, but we can't be sure. Whoever it was, his or her lawyer contacted Max."

Steve looked away from Danny and looked straight ahead.

"When's the funeral?"

Danny bit down on his lip.

"Tomorrow..."

Steve's eyes went big.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it wasn't supposed to be for another week or so but they somehow managed to get a court order to hand the body over sooner."

Steve looked at the ground.

"I want to see him," he looked back at Danny with piercing eyes and a determined tone.

"I know babe, your doctor's in in about an hour, I'll talk to him, you'll see him I promise you," Danny looked at Steve reassuringly.

No matter what he had to do he was going to get Steve in there to see Wo Fat, because not only did Steve need it, he deserved it.

* * *

Dr. Connor came in around noon and as the nurses were running some tests on Steve Danny went out to speak to him about letting Steve go see Wo Fat's body. At first the doctor had refused saying Steve was still much too weak to go but once Danny was done explaining everything to him, everything that Wo Fat had done to Steve, everything that he had taken from Steve, Dr. Connor seemed to understand that seeing Wo Fat was necessary for Steve's mental and emotional healing.

"Okay, he can go," Dr. Connor smiled. "I would tell you to make sure you stay by his side at all times, but seeing as you don't leave his side here, I'm pretty sure you'll be stuck to him like glue over there."

Danny laughed.

"Yeah, I'll make sure he's okay."

"I know you will."

And with that Dr. Connor left to make his rounds as Danny went back into Steve's room.

Steve's eyes shot up the minute he heard Danny enter.

"What did he say?"

Danny smiled as he walked over to Steve's bag of clothes, pulled out a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt and placed it on Steve's bed.

"Get dressed, let's go pay Max a visit."

Steve looked up at Danny as his heart started racing. He was finally going to get to see for himself that Wo Fat was truly dead.

Steve nodded as Danny left the room to give Steve some privacy to change.

* * *

Steve had been quiet the entire car ride over. As much as he had wanted to talk to Steve Danny knew that his partner was just trying to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to see; he couldn't even imagine all the things running through Steve's mind.

Once they pulled up to the parking lot, Danny turned off the engine as the two sat there for a few minutes.

Danny looked over at Steve.

"You okay?"

Steve looked up straight ahead, then looked over at Danny.

"Yeah...I just need a second."

Danny squeezed Steve's shoulder.

"Take as long as you need, I'll be right outside," Danny smiled as he got out of the car. He knew that Steve just needed to collect his thoughts. He walked to the trunk of the car and leaned against it as he waited for his partner.

A few minutes later Steve emerged from the car and the two walked inside.

They made their way through the hallway and into the room where Max had Wo Fat's body under a sheet.

Danny could feel Steve tense up as he entered the room.

"Commander McGarrett, it's very nice to see you, you really had us scared," Max looked up at Steve and Danny.

"Thanks Max, it's really nice to see you too," Steve smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't procure the body for longer, my hands were tied in this matter."

"It's okay Max, we know you did everything you possibly could," Danny walked over as he squeezed Max's shoulder.

Max smiled and nodded.

"I will give you two your privacy."

With that Max left, leaving Danny and Steve standing in front of Wo Fat.

Danny looked over at Steve.

"Do you want me to leave? I can wait outside until you're done?"

Steve looked mesmerized at the sheet in front of him.

"No...uh...can you stay?"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I'm not going anywhere babe." Danny came and stood right beside Steve, knowing that Steve needed him there.

Steve took a deep breath and with shaky hands lifted the sheet off of Wo Fat's face.

Steve froze, his entire body just seemed to shut down as his heart started beating rapidly.

There he was, clear as day – Wo Fat.

"He's actually dead," the shock in Steve's voice didn't surprise Danny in the least. After all the times Wo Fat had escaped prison and cheated death, they were all starting to think that Wo Fat was impossible to get rid of.

"Yeah, he is."

"Nice shots Danny," Steve let out a nervous laugh as he looked at the bullet holes in Wo Fat's head.

Danny smiled.

"I can't believe he's actually dead, after all these years, after everything he's done...this is what's left of him."

Danny looked up at Steve.

"He's never going to hurt you again, or your family."

Steve looked back at Danny.

"Or you..."

Danny nodded.

"Yeah, or me."

Steve stared back down at the body, back down at the man who had been responsible for so much pain, so much heartache for the McGarrett clan. He choked up as he thought about everything that Wo Fat had put him through, put his family through. He remembered the last phone call with his father before Hesse killed him. He knew that although Hesse seemed to be acting alone, Wo Fat was somehow behind the whole thing, he had led Hesse to his father's house that day.

And then he looked to his left, at the man who had risked everything to find him, to get rid of Wo Fat once and for all.

"Danny you killed the man who orchestrated my dad's death, responsible for me being tortured, I don't..." Steve shook his head as he suddenly felt overwhelmed.

"Thank you."

Danny's own emotions were threatening to take over as he could almost see the weight Steve had been carrying around for years finally start to dissipate.

"You don't need to thank me Steve, you're my brother man, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Steve smiled. He knew how much he meant to Danny, he had always known but the last week in particular had shown him how important he really was to his partner and what an unbreakable bond the two of them shared.

Steve and Danny stood there for a few more minutes as they both let it all sink in. Wo Fat was dead, and he was never coming back; his nine lives were finally up.

* * *

Steve and Danny thanked Max and headed back to the hospital.

Both men were quiet for the first half of the ride, trying to absorb everything from the past few minutes.

Danny cringed as he thought back to the warehouse and everything that had happened since. The thought of how close he came to losing Steve this time made his heart sink to his stomach. He hated Wo Fat with every fiber of his being and seeing his body today hadn't made up for everything he had done, but it still felt really good. It was almost as if he was able to release some of the tension he had been carrying around since he had first heard about Wo Fat and his vendetta against Steve. However, something deep inside was telling him that his relief would be short-lived.

"It has to be his father, who else would want a funeral for him?"

Steve's voice brought Danny back to the present.

"I don't know."

"I want to go to the funeral," Steve looked over at Danny as Danny's eyes went wide.

"Are you kidding me? No Steven! You saw his body, you know he's dead. And I'm sorry but no, what if it is his dad huh? What if he wants revenge and comes after you? You're not strong enough to fight him off."

"You'll be there," Steve tried to reason.

"No. No way in hell! I'm not risking that. You can barely stand for 10 minutes straight!"

Steve knew Danny was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Danny saw Steve's defeated expression and felt bad.

"Look...how about this, Chin and I will go to the funeral, that way we can see who organized it. You'll have eyes on the funeral without having to be there."

Steve looked at Danny and then at the ground as he considered this option. Knowing that it was his only option made his answer easy,

"Fine."

"Okay," Danny nodded in agreement.

After a few minutes Danny looked back over at Steve.

"Are you okay?"

Steve looked straight ahead at the road and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm good Danny."

Danny knew Steve wasn't okay but he also knew when not to push. Steve was going to talk eventually; he just had to do it on his schedule.

* * *

The funeral was in an hour and a half and Danny started to get his things together at the hospital.

"I'll be back right after the funeral okay."

Steve nodded his head in acknowledgement. As Danny was gathering the last of his things he looked over at Steve.

"Steven, please, please promise me you will not try and sneak out of here and come to the funeral."

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Steve, I'm serious man, please promise me..."

Steve looked into Danny's eyes and gave in. As much as he had thought about doing exactly what Danny had just asked him not to do, the anguish he saw in his partner's eyes completely wiped that idea out of his head. He had put Danny through enough, he wouldn't put him through any more.

"I promise Danno, I'll be right here till you get back."

Danny heard the sincerity in Steve's voice and that was enough for him.

"Thank you...I'll see you soon okay."

"See you soon buddy."

And with that Danny left the room.

* * *

Danny and Chin arrived at the funeral just before it was about to start. The funeral was being held outside which made it easier for them to hide and stay out of sight of those who attended the funeral, which seemed to be a whole 5 people.

Danny and Chin were up on a hill situated behind a tree, binoculars in hand.

"What do you see?"

"There are 4 men and 1 woman, Danny let me see that pic of Wo Fat's father."

Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture and handed it to Chin. Chin looked at the picture and raised the binoculars up again.

"That's him, third man on the right, standing right by the head of Wo Fat's coffin, that's his father," Chin lowered the binoculars as he looked at Danny.

"Shit..." Danny shook his head as a thousand thoughts ran through his head.

_Is he like Wo Fat? Does he have a grudge against the McGarretts? Will he go after Steve like Wo Fat did? Will he want revenge for Wo Fat's death?_

Chin could see the worry laced all over Danny's face.

"Don't worry brah, we'll protect Steve."

"We haven't been able to so far, what if his father is just as hell bent on getting rid of Steve as Wo Fat was?"

Chin swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I don't know Danny, we'll figure something out," Chin knew that Danny was concerned and so was he. Wo Fat had to have learned his behaviours from somebody, and he really prayed that that somebody wasn't his father.

The two spent the rest of the funeral watching from a far. Danny had to admit, besides seeing Wo Fat's dad there, he was glad he had come. He was glad to see Wo Fat's casket being lowered into the ground for himself, glad to know that that monster was never going to lay a hand on his partner again.

As Danny was watching the casket lower he caught site of something in the distance. He immediately trained his binoculars on that one specific spot ..._it couldn't be_... his heart started to race.

"Chin I'll be right back."

"Where you going, everything okay brah?"

"Yeah, I uh I just gotta check something out."

Before Chin could respond Danny was running down the side of the hill.

* * *

Danny ran like he had never ran before, he had to get to that spot and fast before it was too late.

As he rounded the last tree he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the figure standing in the same spot that he had last seem them.

As Danny got closer the figure turned around like a deer caught in headlights. Danny's stomach was in knots, he had been right, it really was who he thought it was, it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.

He stared at the woman for what seemed like an eternity as the tears streaming down her face completely caught him off guard._  
_

"Doris..."

**TBC...**


	19. Spies and Their Horrible Lies

**Hey guys :) sorry for the late update, I was away visiting my bf at the RCMP Academy in Regina! But I'm home now so next chapter is up! Hope you enjoy. Oh and once again thank you so so so so much for the continued support and all your kind words about my silly noggin lol I'm feeling much better, all your amazing reviews must have helped :).**

**Chapter 19**

Danny stood in shock. There she was, clear as daylight; Steve's mom. Doris had been gone for months and no matter how hard Steve looked for her or how many resources and contacts he exhausted she never turned up anywhere...until now.

"How did you find me Danny..."

Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"Find you? I didn't _find_ you Doris, I wasn't even looking for you, I came to make sure Wo Fat went into the ground and to see who wanted to have a funeral for him in the first place...what are you doing here?"

Doris looked down to where Wo Fat's body had now been fully lowered into the ground. She looked back up at Danny wiping the tears off her face.

_Why the hell was she crying? _Danny wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that.

"I don't have time to explain myself to you."

"Oh, you don't have time...well, I'm sure you'll have time to explain to Steve."

Doris's eyes went wide.

"No...Steve can't know I was here."

Danny shook his head, he was so sick and tired of this, Steve deserved better than this. Danny knew the only way to make her stay, to make her see Steve was to tell her what had happened with Steve and Wo Fat.

"You should go see him Doris, he's in the hospital, he just woke up from a coma, Wo Fat –"

"I know..."

Danny raised his eyebrows and stuck his neck forward. For a second he had thought he heard wrong.

"Excuse me...you know what?"

Doris looked down at the ground.

"I know everything that happened to Steve, everything Wo Fat did, everything your brother did..."

Danny's heart suddenly sank at the thought of Matt and how he had set Steve up.

"So you watch the news, good for you Doris." Danny was annoyed.

"It wasn't from the news...I have my sources."

Danny rolled his eyes, "Of course you do."

"How long have you been on the island?"

Doris looked to the ground.

"About two weeks."

_Two weeks...they had found Steve about 2 weeks ago._

"You've been here this entire time? Why the hell didn't you come to see Steve?"

Doris grabbed Danny's arm and dragged him further away from the funeral so that they weren't going to be heard. She knew she was about to go all in with Danny, no holds bar. She knew how close her son and Danny were and how protective Danny was of Steve.

"I couldn't." Doris let go of Danny's arm once she was sure they were far away enough.

Danny's eyes went wide as he raised his eyebrows.

"You couldn't? What the hell do you mean you couldn't? Steve was in a coma, didn't you think that maybe, just maybe, having his mother, who he has been searching for for months, by his side would help him wake up, help him fight to stay alive? How could you not come see him!"

Danny was livid.

"It wasn't safe Danny..."

"Wasn't safe..._wasn't safe_...and THIS, being here at Wo Fat's funeral where his father is, is safe?!" Danny's arms were flying rampant.

"No, of course not."

"So let me get this straight...you didn't come to see your OWN son who was fighting for his life in the hospital but you came to say your goodbyes to Wo Fat, who by the way is responsible for putting your son in said a coma...what the hell is wrong with you."

Tears sprung to Doris' eyes and Danny was glad. He was glad that she felt terrible.

"Why are you even here Doris? And why do you look like you just lost someone you loved?"

The look on Doris' face made Danny's heart stop.

"Who the hell is Wo Fat to you huh? We know he's not your son 'cause Steve had a DNA test run,"

Doris' eyes shot up at that statement.

"He what..."

"What? Are you really that surprised? You let Wo Fat go when you had a chance to shoot him, you were the only one who visited him in Colorado when he was in the maximum security jail, you've been lying to Steve his entire life, you have to know that he'd assume the worst?"

Doris just nodded and looked back down at the ground.

"You never answered my question...who is he to you, why do you seem to care so much about him, why the hell are you crying over him?"

Doris swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I uh, I'm just crying because I'm happy he's finally dead, after all the grief he's caused my family."

Danny shook his head.

"Steve was right, for a spy you're an incredibly terrible liar. You're not crying because you're relieved or happy, you're crying because you're upset, but what I don't get is why? Why do you care about Wo Fat so much, why is he so important to you?"

Doris looked up at Danny as her expression changed.

"This is none of your business Daniel."

Danny narrowed his eyes as he clenched his teeth.

"None of my business? Are you kidding me? _I_ was the one who was with Steve when we walked into that trap that your _precious_ Wo Fat set for him, _I_ had to leave Steve in that warehouse with Wo Fat,_ I_ lost my damn mind trying to find Steve, _I_ became the bad guy when Wo Fat mentally tortured Steve, I was the one who had to watch him die twice on the table and be revived, so don't you dare tell me that this is none of my business. Steve is _my_ family, so when someone tortures him because of a vendetta they have against you, it becomes _my_ business."

Doris looked up at Danny and the conviction and love in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. Danny loved her son so much.

Doris looked down and started to walk away from Danny.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving, it's not safe here, and don't think about taking me to see Steve, it'll only put him in more danger."

Danny looked at her. He wanted to put her in cuffs and take her back to the station, have Steve finally get the answers he had been searching for for years, but the thought of putting Steve in more danger was not something he was willing to do, so he let her walk away.

"And Daniel," Doris turned around and looked at Danny.

"Thank you, I know we've had our differences and I know how much you probably hate me right now, but thank you, I couldn't have asked for a better brother for my son," she smiled a sad smile and walked off into the distance.

Danny stood there frozen in that one spot and as he stared at the back of the woman who had hurt her son more times than he could count, he prayed that Steve would forgive him for letting her walk away again.

* * *

Danny had told Chin everything that had happened and that he was headed back to the hospital to talk to Steve.

Danny pulled up to the hospital parking lot, parked his car and sat there gripping the steering wheel. Danny was at a loss for words. His shock had soon turned to anger and the resentment he felt towards Steve's mother was threatening to take over.

She had known that Steve had been in a coma, had known that Steve could possibly die and she hadn't even bothered to show up, what kind of a mother did that? He would almost understand if she had stayed away all together to stay in hiding, but the fact that she had showed up to Wo Fat's funeral out in the open spoke volumes. He didn't know how he was going to tell Steve, he had been through enough, the last thing he wanted to do was break his partner's heart even more.

Danny composed himself, took a deep breath, got out of the car, and headed for the hospital doors.

As he walked into Steve's room, Steve quickly looked up.

"Was it his father?"

"Hey to you to Steve."

Steve smiled.

"Sorry buddy, hi, was it his father?"

Danny looked down at the ground.

"Yeah it was."

Steve looked off into the distance as if planning his next line of attack.

"Okay, we need to dig up everything we can find about his father, seeing as my mom meant to kill him when she killed Wo Fat's mother, the apple obviously didn't fall far from the tree."

_Steve's mother._

Danny swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Steve didn't miss this.

"Danno, you okay?"

Danny looked up at Steve.

"Uh Steve, there's something I need to –"

Danny's confession was cut short as Steve groaned in pain as he grabbed his ribs.

"Steve?! Steve, are you okay?!" Danny was hovering over Steve as he placed one hand on Steve's arm.

"Y-yeah, just get these sharp jolts of pain eve-ry now and then, that's all," Steve spoke as the pain started to subside.

"Does Dr. Connor know?"

"Yes I know," Dr. Connor came up from behind Danny. "It's not something to really worry about, with the broken ribs it's bound to happen from time to time. But you should really rest Commander, you've had a few of those today, you're not going to heal if you don't rest."

Danny looked over at Steve concerned.

"I'm fine Danno," then looking over at Dr. Connor, "I'll rest in a bit I promise, Danny just wanted to tell me something."

"It can wait Steve, you should rest."

"Are you sure, it seemed important."

Danny shook his head.

"Trust me it's not as important as your recovery, we'll talk later. You get some rest, I'm going to call Chin and Kono and tell them to see what they can dig up on Wo Fat's father."

"Okay, you're staying though right?"

Danny smiled.

"Of course babe, I'm not leaving this hospital without you."

Steve smiled back and closed his eyes.

Danny got to the door and turned around and looked at Steve. There was no way he was telling Steve about his mother until he was stronger. He'd be damned if he let Doris McGarrett jeopardize Steve's recovery.

* * *

The first thing Danny noticed when he woke up was the bright sun glaring through Steve's hospital room windows, the second thing he noticed was Steve staring at him.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty, it's about time you woke up!"

Danny looked at his watch 6:05am.

"It's only 6 why do you look like a child hopped up on candy?" Danny straightened in his chair and he wiped the drool falling out of the side of his mouth.

"Did you forget what today is?"

It was way too early in the morning to think.

"Uh, Saturday?"

"Yes it's Saturday Daniel, what else?"

It finally clicked.

"Ah yes, it's the day they let the animal out of the cage."

A huge grin spread across Steve's face.

"I'm in too good of a mood to be insulted by that comment."

"Of course you are," Danny laughed.

Steve had filled out his discharge papers around 10am and after getting thorough instructions from Dr. Connor on Steve's recovery Danny wheeled Steve out in a wheelchair to the parking lot, with Steve protesting the whole way that he could walk. Once he helped Steve into the car they drove back to Steve's place.

* * *

As Steve stepped into his house a sudden sense of warmth and comfort filled his entire being. There was something about this house that put Steve at peace.

Chin and Kono had gone out grocery shopping earlier that day so the kitchen was stocked with food.

"I'm making a sandwich, you want one?" Danny looked over at Steve who he had placed on the couch, ordering him to sit there and not move.

"That'd be great Danno thanks," Steve smiled as he started to stand.

"EYYY, WHOA, what do you think you're doing?" Danny leaned over the counter.

"I'm just coming to sit on the kitchen table, I feel so far away over here?"

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Steven you are literally 10 feet away from me, I mean I know you love me and all but c'mon," Danny joked and then turned serious. "Seriously, please just sit down before you pop a stitch or something."

It was Steve's turn to roll his eyes.

"You're so dramatic Danny."

"No no, when it comes to you, Super Seal, it's not dramatic, it's fact, trust me I know from experience."

Steve smirked and ignored that comment as he sat down on the kitchen table.

Steve watched as Danny was making the sandwiches and he smiled. Despite the debacle that was his life, everything that had happened in the last few weeks had made one thing very clear to him; he had the world's greatest best friend and brother.

* * *

The first night Danny was awoken by the sound of screams coming from Steve's room. When he ran up he could see Steve tossing and turning as if he was wreathing in pain. At first he had thought that Steve was in actual physical pain from his injuries but as he got closer he could see that Steve was asleep – he was having a nightmare.

"Stop...I don't know where Doris is...arghhh...please...stop"

Danny's heart dropped to his stomach.

"Steve, babe, wake up," Danny lightly jostled Steve back to the land of the conscious.

Steve looked up at Danny with groggy eyes.

"D-anny..."

"Yeah babe, it's me, you're having a nightmare."

Danny sat on the edge of Steve's bed.

It took a second for Steve to comprehend what Danny was saying, but then he looked around and noticed that he was in _his_ bedroom in _his_ bed and it hit him what Danny was saying.

"Oh..."

"It's okay Steve, after everything you've been through, it's only normal to have nightmares about it," Danny smiled a sad smile.

Steve looked at Danny then looked away.

"Yeah..."

Danny knew that there was no point asking Steve about his nightmare, it was pretty self explanatory, he was being tortured by Wo Fat. Steve still had never talked about what it was like down there, what being tortured was like, and as much as Danny wanted Steve to open up to him, to confide in him, he knew it was something that Steve had to do on his own time, when he was ready.

So instead of questioning Steve, Danny crawled into bed next to him; there was more than enough room for the two of them and he knew Steve wasn't going to fall back asleep any time soon.

"Ninja movie marathon?" Danny smiled as he looked at Steve.

A huge smile spread across Steve's face.

"Are you serious? I thought you didn't like those?"

"I don't _not_ like them, they just wouldn't be my first choice when it comes to movies, but because I'm such an amazing friend, I'm willing to watch countless hours of them with you."

Steve smiled as he looked over at Danny.

"You really are something you know that Danno," and Steve sincerely meant that.

Danny smiled as he grabbed the remote, put his arm around Steve, and turned on Steve's PVR pressing play on the first ninja movie that he had recorded.

* * *

The second night the roles were reversed as it was Danny who had the nightmare.

Steve had woken up around 2am from another nightmare and being unable to go back to sleep he made his way downstairs.

Steve sat down on the chair beside the couch Danny was sleeping on and was about to close his eyes when he heard Danny talking in his sleep.

"Don't...please."

Steve turned his attention to his sleeping partner.

"Please...don't...no...no...no...please...stop."

Steve cringed as he thought Danny was having a nightmare about being tortured. It wasn't until the next outburst that Steve knew that Danny wasn't dreaming about himself being tortured.

"Stop! Don't hurt him, please, take me, just leave him alone!"

Steve sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"Stop! Please! God, Steve...I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Steve had heard enough, he got up and took the few steps over to the couch.

"Danny, wake up buddy, you're having a nightmare," Steve slightly shook Danny's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Steve, I'm so sorry..."

"Danny, wake up"

Danny jolted awake. He was breathing heavy as he tried to take in his surroundings.

"Hey buddy, it's okay you were just having a nightmare."

Danny looked up at Steve and the look in his eyes broke Steve's heart.

"Steve..."

"Yeah, it's me man, you were just having a bad dream Danno."

_Danno._

That nickname coming out of Steve's mouth right now eased a bit of the torment inside Danny's mind.

Danny sat upright and swung his legs off the couch. He rubbed his right hand down his face, stopping over his mouth as he looked at the ground.

"Want to tell me what that was about?" Steve sat on the coffee table in front of Danny.

Danny shook his head.

"No."

"Danny, man you can't bottle this inside, what's going on, what were you dreaming about?"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat and looked back at the ground. Steve wasn't sure if Danny was actually going to talk or not until...

"We were back in the warehouse, everything played out exactly as it had a few weeks ago with Matt and Wo Fat, except this time...uh..."

Danny choked up as he thought about what happened next in his dream.

"It's okay Danno, I'm right here, I'm okay," Steve laid a reassuring hand on Danny's knee, urging him to continue.

Danny looked up at Steve and the anguish Steve saw in his partner's eyes took his breath away.

"Except this time, Wo Fat did the torturing in the warehouse. Matt had tied me up, I couldn't move, I couldn't help you, I couldn't do anything but stand there and watch as Wo Fat..."

Danny choked up again. He didn't want to go into details, he couldn't.

"He stabbed you and you started bleeding out and I just had to stand there and watch as you..."

Danny couldn't finish that sentence, and Steve didn't need him to, he could figure out what happened next.

"You know what the kicker is, I've had this exact same nightmare for two nights in a row," Danny shook his head trying to clear the images from his head.

Steve looked at Danny with wide eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me about them?"

"Because it's ridiculous YOU shouldn't be comforting me, I'm not the one who had to go through all of that."

Steve cocked his head to the side.

"Danny we've been through this before man, you're recovering from this just as much as I am, if not more. We're in this together Danno," Steve squeezed Danny's shoulder. "No more secrets okay? If you have a nightmare you tell me okay?"

Danny looked up at Steve.

_No more secrets._

When Danny looked away without giving an answer Steve knew there was something else that Danny was holding back on.

"What is it?"

"What?"

"Danny, I know something else is on your mind, what is it man?"

Danny looked at the ground, he knew he couldn't keep this from Steve any longer; he had a right to know.

"Remember when I came back from Wo Fat's funeral, I had wanted to tell you something right before you got that jolt of pain and Dr. Connor walked in?"

"Yeah...the thing you said wasn't important?"

Danny nodded.

"Yeah...that..."

"It was important wasn't it?"

Danny nodded.

"Yeah...it was...uh..."

Danny didn't know how to say this. How do you tell your best friend that his mother didn't come to see him when he was dying but went to see the man responsible for him almost dying.

"Danny what is it man?"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Wo Fat's father wasn't the only one at the funeral," Danny looked up at Steve.

"Okay, well I mean I figured as much, I knew he must have other family too."

"Not family Steve," Danny took a deep breath, here goes nothing. "Your mother was there."

The instant look of pain in Steve's eyes tore at Danny's heart, Steve didn't deserve this, any of it.

"My mother..."

"Yeah, Chin and I had our binoculars and were looking down at the funeral and everyone in attendance when I noticed something to the side. It looked like your mother but I couldn't be sure so I ran down to where I saw her standing and sure enough, there she was."

"Wait...you were that close to her?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you bring her back?!" Steve's voice was a lot harsher than he had intended but he was surprisingly angry at Danny. How could he not bring her back, Danny knew how hard he been looking for his mother for over a year.

Danny pulled back a bit.

He looked Steve in the eyes, hoping that what he was about to say next would make him understand why he did what he did.

"I wanted to Steve, believe me, I wanted to cuff her and bring her in to see you, but she said if I did that I would only be putting you in more danger, and after everything that had happened, I just...I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to you because she was around, so I let her walk away. I'm sorry I had to let her go but I'm not sorry for looking out for you, I won't apologize for that."

Steve looked at Danny and his anger quickly dissipated. Danny had been through hell the past few weeks and had to watch him die, if the roles were reversed he knew he would've done exactly what Danny had done.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you, I know you were only trying to protect me."

Danny let out a sigh of relief, which was short lived when Steve started asking more questions.

"Why was she there?"

Danny looked away from Steve and then to the ground.

"She said she wanted to see for herself that the man who had tortured her family for years was finally dead..."

Steve scoffed.

"God she's horrible at lying."

"Yeah, that's what I told her." Then after a second. "Steve, she was crying..."

Steve's heart started to beat faster.

"And not tears of happiness or joy, it was the sad kind, like she had lost someone important to her..."

"What the hell man, who the hell is Wo Fat to her?"

Danny shook his head.

"I don't know Steve, I asked her the same thing, but she never gave me a straight answer."

"How did she even hear about the funeral if she was out of town this whole time?"

Danny cringed, this was the part he was dreading the most.

"She's uh, she's actually been in town for 2 weeks, since we found you."

Steve's eyes went wide.

"What..."

"Yeah."

Steve looked down at the ground then back up at Danny.

"Did you tell her about Wo Fat, about Matt?"

Danny clenched down on his teeth and then released it.

"I didn't have to...she knew Steve, she had known the entire time."

Danny could see the wheels turning in Steve's head.

"She was here while I was in a coma? She knew I was in a coma?"

Danny nodded.

"She said she wanted to come see you but it was too dangerous."

Steve's eyes widened as he raised his eyebrows.

"Too dangerous? So she could go to Wo Fat's funeral out in the open but it's too dangerous to sneak into a hospital to see her own son who was fighting for his life?!"

Danny's heart shattered at the anguish in Steve's voice and the tears in his eyes.

"I know...I said the exact same thing to her, she didn't have anything to say back to that."

Steve shook his head.

"Of course she didn't," Steve was fuming.

He was furious and hurt and all he wanted to do was shut the world out. His own mother knew that he was in the hospital, knew that he could die, and she didn't bother to show up, didn't bother to tell him she loved him, didn't bother to tell him to fight. And that same mother had thought it was more important to say goodbye to the man who had killed his father and tortured him not once, but twice. He had never felt so betrayed in his life. Matt had nothing on Doris.

Steve could feel his walls breaking down and he didn't want Danny to see this, so he stood up to walk away but he realized he stood up too quickly as a wave of pain went coursing through his body.

Steve grabbed his ribs.

"Argh!"

"Steve!" Danny jumped off the couch and grabbed a hold of Steve's arm as he lowered him onto the chair.

"Easy...easy,"

Steve took some deep breaths as the pain started to subside.

"Steve, you gotta be careful man, you're still recovering."

"I know..."

Steve sat there as he looked at the ground like he was a million miles away.

"I'm really sorry Steve, I'm sorry that your mom is hurting you yet again, you deserve so much better than that, than her."

Steve looked up at Danny and Steve's child like voice made Danny want to rip Doris apart.

"I don't get it man, why is he so important to her? She obviously came back to town for _him_, to say goodbye to _him,_ hell she was crying over _him,_ I ran that DNA test, he's not her son, so who the hell is he and why's is he more important to her than her own son?"

Danny's heart shattered for the umpteenth time. He hated Doris McGarrett, he hated her more than he ever thought possible.

"I don't know babe, I'm just as confused as you," Danny looked up at Steve. "But we're going to find out, you're not alone in this Steve. As long as I'm here you're never going to be alone in this, or anything else for that matter. And one way or another, we'll get to the bottom of this, we'll get you all your answers, I promise you that partner."

Steve looked at Danny and saw the myriad of emotions in his partner's eyes; the determination to get Steve answers, the pain from having Steve be hurt again by Doris, the love he so clearly had for Steve, someone he considered a brother, and Steve knew right then and there that no matter what had happened in the past and no matter what was going to happen from this moment forward, Danny was the only family he was ever going to need.

**TBC...**


	20. Obstacle Courses All Around

**Eek thank you guys so much for your love! I'm so glad you're still enjoying this story :). There's lots more to come, this chapter is just building up to a huge revelation that's to come in the next chapter! But for now here is the next chapter, enjoy my lovelies!**

**Chapter 20**

Danny looked over at Steve and smiled. It had been two weeks since Steve had been released from the hospital and today was the first day that Steve was returning to 5-0, strictly on an administrative basis.

"You're unbelievable you know that?"

Steve grinned in response, not knowing what Danny was referring to but smiling at the tone Danny was taking with him.

"How so Daniel?"

"How so? Well let's see, it's your first day back and you're already back to driving MY car!"

Steve smiled knowing exactly what to say next.

"I'm just trying to go back to normal Danno, I always drove this car before, you know...all I want is to get back to normal."

Danny gave him the death glare. If it was anyone else Danny would have fallen for that, but he knew Steve, he knew when Steve was being serious and when Steve was yanking his chain.

"Cute Steven, that's real cute, you can play up that pity card with everyone else, but that's not going to fly with me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Danny," Steve looked forward as he tried to hide the grin that was so clearly plastered on his face.

Danny shook his head and smiled; he had missed this. It was good to have Steve back beside him, control-freak and all.

* * *

Chin and Kono could hear Steve and Danny before they even came through the Headquarter doors.

"NO Steven, this is one thing you do not get the final say on!"

Danny pushed the door open as they made their way to Kono and Chin.

"Come on Danny! I won't chase anyone I promise."

Danny laughed as he looked at Chin and Kono.

"He won't chase anyone he says!" Danny turned back and looked at Steve. "That's hilarious Steven, that statement has as much credibility as you saying you'll let me drive my own car again."

Chin and Kono exchanged smiles; it was good to hear Steve and Danny bickering like an old married couple again.

"What are two arguing about now?" Chin laughed.

Kono walked over to Steve and gave him a big hug.

"Welcome back boss!"

Steve returned the hug.

"Thanks Kono, it's good to be back."

Chin went up next and gave Steve a hug.

"We are arguing about the fact that Steve here, who was given strict orders NOT to and I repeat NOT to, engage in any physical activity, including running, for at least 2 weeks once he returned back to work, wants to go out on routine calls with us."

Chin smiled as he could see how worked up Danny was.

"And...wait for it...the best part, the funniest part really, I'm sure you'll both find this insanely comedic..." Danny was talking with his hands again. "...is that Steve promised to stay in the car if a foot pursuit ensued."

Chin and Kono tried to hold in their laughter.

"I'm sorry Steve, but that is pretty funny."

Danny looked over at Steve and gave him a "told you so" look.

"Whose side are you on Chin!"

Danny looked over at Steve.

"I don't think you even know what it means to stand down, it's cute though that you think you can control your urge to turn into Superman during a case."

Steve squinted his eyes at Danny.

"I do not have an urge to turn into Superman."

"Keep telling yourself that Clark Kent!"

Steve rolled his eyes and saw that Kono and Chin had something up on the computer.

"What do you guys have here?"

Chin laughed and shook his head as he turned his attention to the screen.

"This is 35 year old Thomas "Kalika" Kapule, body was found out in the old dump yard off Kamoko Road yesterday around 5pm."

"Wait, isn't that Mike Kapule's son?" Mike Kapule was one of the leaders of the Yakuza. Steve had remembered speaking to Mike when they were investigating another murder.

"The one and only," Chin knew the implications of this murder. "That's why the Governor called us yesterday to wrap this case up soon before an all out gang war erupts in Hawaii."

That thought sent a shudder down all their backs.

"Well...you are _definitely_ not coming along to question anyone during this case," Danny said as he looked over at Steve, then looking over at Chin, "Did you guys find any clues yesterday?

Kono looked up at Danny, "There was a receipt in Kalika's pocket for the Hawaiian Taverna. It was time stamped at 1 am yesterday and Max placed the time of death around 1:15 am."

"So the killer may have been at the Taverna as well, keeping an eye on him until he got him alone" Steve spoke up.

"Exactly, Kono and I were about to head out to speak to the owner."

"Okay, I'll head to Kalika's house, see if his wife may know anything."

"Good idea Danny, and Steve, we haven't had a chance to go through Kalika's phone yet..."

"On it, you guys be careful."

"Always boss," Kono smiled as her and Chin left.

"Hey," Danny grabbed a hold of Steve's arm. "Promise me you'll stay here and not go gallivanting off if you find something on Kalika's phone?"

Steve smirked.

"Gallivanting?"

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Steve, I'm serious."

Steve could see the worry in Danny's eyes and as much as he would love to be out in the field during this case, he knew that Danny was right, he wasn't physically ready to take on a normal everyday thief let alone the Yakuza if he had to.

"I promise Danno."

Satisfied with that answer Danny nodded his head.

"Okay...I'll be back in a bit."

"Sounds good buddy, be careful."

Danny smiled as he headed out the doors.

* * *

Two hours had gone by and Danny, Chin, and Kono still hadn't returned. Steve had gone through the phone but it was all filled with numbers from burner phones. He had also gone through the evidence again to see if he could find any other leads that Chin and Kono may have missed.

After going through all the evidence he was pleased, and also a little disappointed, that they hadn't missed anything. Steve was spinning in his chair bored out of his mind. There was literally nothing for him to do. He had been out of the office for so long that he didn't even know where to start when helping with other cases, although most of them were already closed.

Just then Steve had an idea. He wheeled his chair out of his office, as well as Danny's, Kono's, and Chin's. He grabbed a few boxes that were laying around the office and placed them around the chairs to make an obstacle course. He then grabbed a few other things that were laying around the office, namely a stepping stool, a miniature table, and a ladder, and set them around the obstacle course. He set his clock to time himself and was about to start when...

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

_Crap._

"Hey Danno," Steve knew he was about to hear an earful.

"Don't you "hey Danno" me. What the hell is this?" Danny was angrily pointing at the obstacle course that Steve had so technically set up.

"It's an obstacle course," Steve smiled.

Danny's eyebrows almost went through the roof.

"Excuse me...I must have misheard you, for a second I thought you said you created an obstacle course."

"You heard correctly," Danny wanted to wipe the grin off Steve's face.

"What part of NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY do you not understand?" the hand gestures were out in full force. "When the doctor told you you could come back to work it was under one condition Steven...just one...that you DO NOT partake in ANY physical activity. This...right here...THIS COUNTS AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!"

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"I am yelling at you because you are like a child who will not listen. When children don't listen sometimes they get yelled at, and seeing as you are acting like a child, I will treat you as such!"

"It's just an obstacle course Danny," Steve really didn't see the issue.

Danny covered his face with his right hand as he tried to let his anger subside. Steve was so far beyond insane that it hurt Danny's head.

"Listen to me before I punch you in the throat you Neanderthal. 'No physical activity' means you cannot do anything that gets your heart rate up. An obstacle course...THAT WILL GET YOUR HEART RATE UP! No obstacle courses, no ninja-ing around the office, no running...you sit, you sit and walk, and then go back to sitting. I swear to god Steven, you pull one more stunt like this and you're going back on house arrest, do you hear me?"

It was Steve's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Jeez Danny, I feel sorry for Grace."

"No no, see, Grace actually listens when I tell her what's best for her. She doesn't think that she's invincible!"

Steve smiled.

"Give her a few more years."

Danny cringed at the thought.

"God I hope not, I have my hands full with you, don't need another one."

Steve laughed as he started to clean up his obstacle course.

"You find anything out at Kalika's house?"

Danny took a deep breath as he tried to calm his breathing from the tirade he just let loose on Steve.

"Yeah, his wife said he received this box a few days ago," Danny pulled out his phone to show the picture to Steve, "I dropped the box off at Max's to see if he could get any prints off of it. The only thing in the box was this note."

_See you soon Kalika._

"Did his wife know who may have sent it?"

"No, and seeing as the Yakuza have a lot of enemies, the list is going to be huge."

"Yeah," just then Steve's head snapped to the doors as Kono and Chin walked in.

"Uh, what's all this?" Kono pointed at the remnants of Steve's obstacle course that he had yet to finish cleaning.

"Don't ask," Danny shook his head.

"Yeah I had a feeling that would be your answer," Chin smiled. "So we have a lead."

"Shoot."

"The owner said that Kalika came in by himself and was alone the whole night, but that there was someone who came in around the same time as him and left right after him. He said if he didn't know any better he would've thought that Kalika was being followed."

"Did he get a good look at the guy?"

"No, black sweats and black hoodie covering his face, but he did give us the surveillance camera footage so maybe we can catch something on there."

Danny and Steve nodded in unison.

After Danny showed Chin and Kono the picture of the box and the note that Kalika had received a few days ago, the four of them reviewed the surveillance footage.

"He was definitely being followed," Danny rewound back to the man in the hoodie standing up as Kalika was headed for the exit.

"And the guy knows what he's doing, head down, face covered, so he wouldn't get caught by cameras," Steve bit down on his lip. "That backroad Kalika took after he left the taverna, isn't that the old railway path?"

"Yeah I think so, how come Steve?" Chin looked up.

"Kono pull up the street camera's from that area. But you're going to have to go under the archived cameras, the ones that are technically no longer in use, although they still work. If I remember correctly there should be one a few feet from where Kalika's body was found. If he was murdered in that area like Max said he was, then maybe we'll get a glimpse of the hooded killer's face."

After a few minutes...

"Bingo! We got him!" Kono excitedly slammed her hands on the table.

"Kono run his face through the face-recognition software and see if we get a match."

"On it boss!"

Steve noticed Danny smiling.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing, I just really like it when you use that head of yours for smart things like solving murders, as opposed to stupid things like building obstacle courses."

Steve rolled his eyes but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

It took a few minutes but they found a match.

"Morgan 'Moliko' Makula, his priors really consistent of just misdemeanours and the last one was over 6 years ago," Chin looked up at his team.

"How does a guy go from misdemeanours to murder?" Danny shook his head.

"That's what we gotta find out, time to dig up anything and everything we can about Moliko."

Everyone headed back to their office to start on their research.

After a few hours of solid research, including a trip to Moliko's house, which was a bust as no one was home at the time, they hadn't been able to find Moliko or a motive as to why he would kill Kalika.

It was 9 pm and they hadn't turned up anything new so they called it a day, they would check out a few more leads tomorrow including speaking to Moliko's wife.

* * *

Steve drove him and Danny home. Although the doctor had said that it was only necessary for Danny to stay with Steve for a week, Danny had decided otherwise and Steve hadn't argued. Amber would stop by from time to time as well and on days that Danny had Grace, she would come stay with him at Steve's, which she absolutely loved doing.

If Steve was being honest with himself, it was really nice having Danny around, with everything that had happened the last few weeks and hearing about Doris being at Wo Fat's funeral and not coming to see him, he needed the emotional support that Danny so generously gave.

"Hey Steve, hold up a sec," Danny grabbed onto Steve's arm as they entered the house.

"What," Steve began to turn around but Danny held his arm firmly so that Steve's back remained to him.

Danny looked at the smear of blood on Steve's grey shirt and lifted the back of his shirt up a little to take a look at the culprit. He cringed as he saw the scars on the part of Steve's back that wasn't covered by the shirt.

"One of the gashes back here opened up, it looks a little infected."

"Really? But I've been taking really good care of them, are you sure it's infected?"

"Yeah, looks like it, why don't you go wash up and I'll put that disinfecting medication Dr. Connor gave."

Steve looked at Danny appreciatively.

"Yeah, okay."

"And while you're showering I'll make us some dinner, I was thinking spaghetti?"

Steve smirked.

"I don't know why Rachel left you; it's great being married to you."

Danny laughed.

"Funny Steven, go shower before it gets even more infected!"

Steve laughed and made his way up the stairs.

* * *

Steve made his way into the kitchen. That shower had felt amazing, he hadn't realized how tired he was from working his first full day in weeks.

Danny was done with the spaghetti and was just letting the meat simmer on the stove when he heard Steve walk in. Danny grabbed the tube of medicine and made his way over to the living room with Steve.

Steve took off his shirt with his back facing Danny. Danny stood still, almost in shock as he looked at the myriad of gashes plastered across Steve's back. Besides at the hospital, Danny had never really gotten a good look at Steve's back. Dr. Connor had told Steve just to wash his back daily and let the wounds heal on their own so there had been no need for Danny to see Steve's back, until now.

Danny felt sick to his stomach and his hatred and anger for Wo Fat returned with a vengeance.

Steve instinctively, knowing why Danny hadn't made his way over with the medication, wanted to ease some of the worry he knew was coursing through his partner's brain.

"It's really not as bad as it looks Danno."

This seemed to snap Danny out of his trance.

"It doesn't hurt?" Danny sounded like a kid.

"No, not any more. The one that's open just feels like a scrape that's all, but the others don't hurt."

"Oh...okay...that's good," Danny was still standing in the same place.

"Soooo you gonna come put that stuff on or just stare at me all night, I just wanna know because if you're just gonna stare I'd like to sit down and get more comfortable," Steve joked.

"Uh...yeah sorry," Danny walked over and started applying the cream to the open gash.

After he was done Danny went and washed his hands. Steve had turned the TV on as Danny came back and sat on the couch to the right of Steve.

Steve noticed the change in his partner's demeanour.

"You okay Danny?"

Danny looked up from the spot on the ground he was staring at.

"Uh...yeah, I'm good."

Steve knew that Danny wasn't good and he knew why. He knew his partner better than anyone and he knew right now the only thing running through Danny's mind was what Steve had gone through in that cellar and he was certain that Danny was thinking of the worst scenarios possible.

Steve hadn't opened up about the torture, it wasn't something he really wanted to re-live but right now, looking at Danny's sunken face, he knew he had to talk about, not for himself but for Danny.

"I've been tortured worse."

Danny looked up at Steve with a look of shock.

_Okay so you could've worded that better. _Steve mentally kicked himself for how that came out.

"What..."

"Uh I just mean, what Wo Fat did to me in that cellar, I've had worse."

Danny shook his head.

"If you're trying to make me feel better you're doing a really terrible job."

Steve grinned and then got serious.

"I'm not gonna lie it sucked being his prisoner again."

Danny shuddered at that word...prisoner. Steve McGarrett, the mighty Seal, should never be anyone's prisoner...ever.

"But you know what hurt the most?"

_The whippings? The cattle prod? Being beaten with a bat? _Danny cringed as he thought of all the answers he could've given to that question.

"It was knowing that _you_ were out there looking for me, worried out of your mind and feeling guilty for something that wasn't your fault. I would take being beaten and whipped and cattle prodded over having to go through what you went through while I was missing, and I'm serious Danny."

Danny could see the sincerity in Steve's eyes.

"What about the drugs?" Danny almost didn't ask but he had to know.

Steve's demeanour changed a little as he thought back to seeing Wo Fat, who at the time he thought was Danny, in the cellar.

"Yeah...aside from being worried about you that was the worst part of it all. The physical stuff I can generally take, I have a pretty high pain tolerance," Steve smiled.

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I know, it's insane."

"But the drugs, that caught me off guard. I just felt so out of it like my brain was only working at half its capacity. I felt slow, it was hard to breathe, I was confused and disoriented and I couldn't think straight, I mean hell I thought Wo Fat was you."

Danny looked at the ground.

"Yeah that was fun..."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Man I wanted it to be you so badly. I just remember how happy I felt when I thought it was you; and then Wo Fat started saying all those things."

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

Steve looked at Danny.

"I hope you know that I only thought it was you because I was drugged. If I hadn't been drugged I would've known something was wrong, that you would never say those things."

Danny looked up and nodded.

"Good, I'm glad you know that."

"That was probably the most painful part about this whole thing; thinking that you had betrayed me, thinking that you didn't care whether I lived or died."

Danny clenched his teeth and shook his head. He thought about how he would've felt if the roles were reversed and he had thought that Steve had betrayed him, that Steve didn't care; it crushed him.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Steve, through all of it."

"It's okay Danno, I mean it was kind of a blessing of sorts..."

Danny looked at Steve with a shocked expression.

"Uh how so?"

"You finally told me how much you loved me, I mean you poured your heart out man," Steve smirked. "If I had known that's what it took to have you open up about how important I am to you I would've planned this whole set up myself."

Danny gave Steve a death glare.

"You, my friend, need help, like professional "help me fix my psyche" help!"

Steve let out a laugh and Danny followed suit. They sat there quietly for about 30 seconds before...

"But seriously Danno, I don't think I ever thanked you properly for everything you did to find me, for actually being the person who found me, and most of all for killing Wo Fat. I'll never be able to repay you for that." Steve clasped down on Danny's shoulder.

"You don't ever need to thank me for that. You're my Ohana, I would have died looking for you, I would've never given up."

Steve smiled.

"Believe me I know."

"And besides, you would've done the same for me, that's what we do right, for the people that we love. We watch each other's backs."

Steve nodded.

"Yeah, that's exactly what we do."

"Yeah...what do you say we get some food and watch the remaining two ninja movies."

Steve put his hand to his heart. "Danno if I didn't know any better I'd think you're trying to get a permanent invite to live here, cooking me food, watching my favourite movies with me."

Danny scoffed.

"Don't flatter yourself Steve, I happen to like cooking and I feel bad that you're on desk duty at work, I'm really just doing my good deed of the day."

"Whatever you say partner," Steve smirked as he walked into the kitchen with Danny right behind him.

Danny smiled as he thought about everything they had just talked about. It had been something that Danny had wanted Steve to open up about, partly for Steve's sake and partly for his own, and now that he had, it was almost like a heavy weight had been lifted off his own shoulders; even Steve had a little more jump in his step. Staying longer at Steve's had definitely been the best idea.

* * *

The next day Danny dropped Steve off at headquarters and him, Chin and Kono headed to Moliko's house to speak to his wife.

Chin had asked Steve to go through a few files for this case to see if anything turned up but once he was done with those there really wasn't anything left for him to do.

Steve had been thinking a lot about his mother and her connection to Wo Fat last night so he decided to see what he could dig up himself on Wo Fat's father.

By the time Danny, Chin, and Kono returned Steve had a few CIA reports of Wo Fat's father up on the big screen.

All he had found out though was that Wo Fat's father's name was Yeun Wo Fat, he was 75 years old, and his last known location was Osaka.

He wasn't on any terrorist list or any wanted list, which explained why the hit that was taken out on him, which ended up killing his wife instead, was unsanctioned. The Pentagon had wanted him dead, but Steve had no idea why.

Steve saw Danny escort a woman to their waiting room.

Kono opened the front door.

"Hey boss, Danny told me to come get you."

Steve headed to the room to meet up with his partner.

Steve entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Hey Steve, this is Moliko's wife, Lahani, she said she felt safer answering questions here at headquarters," Danny introduced the two.

"It's nice to meet you Lahani," Steve put his hand out to shake hers.

"You too Commander," she smiled a sad smile and shook his hand.

"So Lahani, why did you want to come here to talk?" Danny asked as he handed her a bottle of water.

"I wasn't sure if we were being watched or not. My husbands been acting strange the last week or so, I didn't want to come to the police because of his past but he's been missing since the day before yesterday and I'm really worried," she started to tear up.

Steve reached out and held her hand.

"It's okay, you did the right thing coming to us. Can you tell us why you think your husbands been acting strange? Has his behaviour changed lately?"

She took a deep breath.

"Everything's changed in the last two weeks. It was like one day he was my husband and the next...I don't know. He was keeping secrets, going out at odd hours of the night."

Steve and Danny exchanged glances.

"I thought at first he was cheating on me so I started following him when he would leave in the middle of the night."

"Where was he going?"

"He was meeting up with a man, an elderly man, and I followed him about three times and all three times he met up with the same man. The last night I followed him was two nights ago, he met up with that man again but this time I saw him handing Moliko a gun, I got scared so I left and I was going to confront Moliko when he got home, but he never came home...he always comes home," Lahani started to cry.

Danny handed her some tissue.

"Lahani I'm sorry I know this is very difficult for you but can you describe the man who you've been seeing Moliko with? If we can find him, maybe we can find your husband."

Lahani looked up at Danny.

"Um...he's probably in his late 70s I would say, Asian, looks Japanese almost, about 5'10, uh really sharp features, and he had a scar above his right eyebrow."

Steve's eyes went wide.

"Lahani can you come with me, I want to show you something."

Danny looked up at Steve, confused by Steve's suggestion but knowing that Steve obviously knew something he didn't.

Steve, Danny, and Lahani made their way to the big screen by their offices.

Lahani froze the minute she saw the picture that was plastered all over the screen.

"That's him..." Lahani was pointing at the picture of Wo Fat's dad.

Everyone turned their attention to her.

"That's the man who my husband was meeting up with."

**TBC...**


	21. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

**Chapter 21**

The information that Moliko's wife had provided was enough to get a search warrant to search any place associated with the Fat family.

"I want to know every possible location where Wo Fat's father could be. Find out where he's been going to eat, cut his hair, grab his newspaper, anywhere and everywhere he's been I wanna know!" Steve was on a mission. Wo Fat's father had only been in town for 2 weeks and he was already a person of interest in a murder. Wo Fat had done enough damage to Hawaii, he'd be damned if he let his father pick up where he left off.

Chin, Kono, Danny, and Steve all got to work to compile lists of possible locations. At the top of everyone's list was Wo Fat's home in Hawaii.

Once they had about 5 locations, Chin, Kono, and Danny got ready to head out while Steve was going to stay back to continue the search for locations. He hated staying back, he wanted to be out there with his team, he didn't feel right not having their backs when they were going after Wo Fat's father.

Danny could see the change in Steve's face, he stepped away from Chin and Kono towards his partner.

"What's with the face babe?

"I don't have a 'face', I'm fine."

"Then why do you look like you someone just stole your G.I. Joe and you want to punch them in the neck?"

Steve shook his head.

"I should be out there with you guys, not stuck in here like some paper-pusher!"

"Settle down okay, I know, I know it sucks, but right now this is the way it's gotta be okay," Danny placed a comforting hand on Steve's chest. "If you take it easy these next few days you'll be back to chasing down suspects in no time, I promise."

"Yeah," Steve was still fuming; he had never felt this useless in his entire life. Steve shook his head then looked at his team.

"Be careful you guys, we don't know what he's capable of."

"We'll be careful boss." Kono smiled as she headed out the doors with Danny and Chin in tow.

* * *

The first location they were going to check was Wo Fat's house, it was the most likely place they would find his father.

The three of them entered the house, guns up.

"This is Five-0, Yeun Fat if you're here come out with your hands up," Chin yelled out into the house.

Danny signalled for Chin to take the right of the house, Kono to take the left side of the house and he was going to take upstairs.

One by one the cousins cleared their areas.

"Danny, your area all clear?"

Silence.

"Danny?"

Chin and Kono, alarmed by Danny's silence, ran up the stairs as fast as they could.

Kono let out a relieved sigh as she saw Danny standing in the master bedroom of the house.

"Danny why didn't you answer us brah?" Chin had caught up to Kono.

Danny still didn't turn around. He was standing over a suitcase and it looked like he had something in his hand.

"Danny...?"

When Danny finally turned around the look on his face heightened the cousins' worry. Danny looked like he had just seen a ghost. Chin looked down at what Danny was holding in his hands.

Pictures.

"What are those?"

Danny couldn't speak as he handed the pictures over to Chin and Kono.

The shocked gasps elicited by the two and the look of sheer and utter shock mirrored everything Danny was feeling.

"Oh my god Danny, where did you find these." Kono covered her mouth in shock as she went through about 20 pictures.

Danny finally found his voice.

"They uh, they were in this suitcase, I found these old flight tickets in here too, they're Wo Fat's father's. He's definitely staying here."

Chin looked up from the photos and looked at Danny.

"What are we going to do about these photos? Do we show Steve?"

Danny looked at the ground, as much as he would like to hide those pictures from Steve and never show them to him, he knew Steve had a right to see them.

"Yeah, we have to."

Chin nodded as he handed the pictures back to Danny.

Danny placed the pictures back in the envelope they had come from and put them in his pocket.

* * *

After checking the four other locations on their list, the trio headed back to headquarters to meet up with Steve.

"Hey guys! Any luck?" Steve stepped out of his office towards them.

"Uh, four of the places on our list didn't really give us many clues but he's definitely staying at Wo Fat's place," Chin spoke up as he knew Danny was clearly preoccupied with how he was going to show Steve the pictures they had found.

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"All his stuff was there, we found a suitcase full of his clothes as well as some old flight tickets," Kono handed the tickets to Steve.

"Osaka to Hawaii, this looks like his ticket here."

"Yeah, we have a few ghost cars around his house, they'll bring him in the minute he shows up," Chin stated.

"Great job guys!" Steve then realized that Danny hadn't spoken since he walked through the doors, and he looked awfully pale.

"Danno, you okay?"

Danny looked up at Steve and then looked at Chin and Kono.

"We have something to go check on with Max, we'll be back in a little while."

Steve didn't miss the sympathetic smile that Kono gave Danny.

Once Chin and Kono left Steve turned his attention back to Danny.

"What's going on?"

Danny signalled for Steve to follow him into his office. Once they were in there he looked up at Steve, took a deep breath, and reached into his back pocket.

"I found this in Yeun's suitcase," Danny shook his head and handed the envelope over to Steve.

Danny watched as Steve's face lost all colour as he started going through the photos.

With each photo Steve's heart started to race a little more, as the whole room seemed to be closing in on him:

_Wo Fat, Doris, and Yeun at the park, Wo Fat looked to be about 4._

_Wo Fat, Doris, and Yeun at the aquarium, Wo Fat looked to be about 8._

_Doris hugging Wo Fat, Wo Fat looked to be about 10._

_Doris giving Wo Fat a kiss on the cheek, Wo Fat looked to be about 6._

_Doris giving Wo Fat a piggy back ride, Wo Fat looked to be about 5._

The next few completely took Steve's breath away.

_Wo Fat standing in between Doris and Yeun, holding both their hands. Wo Fat looked to be about 9._

_Yeun having his arm around Doris as Wo Fat stood in the middle with a huge smile on his face. Wo Fat looked to be about 8._

_Wo Fat sitting on Doris's lap as she read him a story. Wo Fat looked to be about 5._

_Doris standing by the school bus waving goodbye to Wo Fat. Wo Fat looked to be about 7._

Steve's mind was racing. His mother looked so happy, Wo Fat looked like a normal happy kid, and Wo Fat, Doris, and Yeun looked like a family.

Steve looked at the next few pictures and almost stopped breathing. The time stamps on the pictures showed that they were all taken after Steve had been born. Steve flipped through the pictures one by one.

Danny hated this, he could see Steve's heart break with each and every picture, although the picture he was currently looking at seemed to be the nail in the coffin.

"Steve was is it?"

Steve turned the picture around to look at the date stamp on the back and then showed the picture to Danny.

_Wo Fat, Yeun, and Doris at what looked like Wo Fat's University graduation._

"This was taken two weeks before Doris faked her own death..." Steve looked at Danny and back down at the picture. Steve stood there for what seemed like an eternity just staring at that one picture.

Finally Steve shoved all the pictures back into the envelope and put them in his pocket.

"Uh, we should get back to work, see if we can track down Wo Fat's dad." And just like that Steve pushed all of his emotions down into the dark hole within him that was slowly but surely getting bigger.

"Steve..." Danny tried to stop Steve as he brushed passed him.

"Steve stop," Danny chased after him as he grabbed a hold of Steve's forearm.

Steve tried to shrug him off.

"Steve stop!"

"What!" Steve snapped around raising his voice louder than he had intended.

"Talk to me man," Danny deflated a little.

"What is there to talk about? Doris has been lying to me my entire life, she was probably the reason why my dad was murdered, and she protected Wo Fat until he took his last breath despite everything he had done to our family. There, we talked."

Danny's heart broke. As angry as Steve seemed right now he knew the anger was just masking the heartbreak he was feeling.

"Steve..."

"Just drop it Danny, we have to find Wo Fat's dad, so let's just concentrate on that okay?"

Danny nodded.

"Okay..."

_But we're going to talk about this later._

* * *

Steve had been quiet the rest of the day, including the entire ride home. Once they got home Steve went upstairs to brush his teeth then came down to sleep on the couch. Danny had been having some back problems the last few nights so Steve had insisted that he sleep upstairs in the bed. Danny had refused but Steve wouldn't take no for an answer.

By the time Danny had gotten ready for bed Steve was already laying on the couch. Danny knew he was pretending to be asleep but he also knew that you couldn't push Steve to talk. So with a heavy heart Danny walked up the stairs to Steve's room.

* * *

Danny woke up and looked at the clock – 4:30 am. He was thirsty and since he was up he decided he may as well just go grab some water.

As he started to make his way down the stairs he realized that the light in the living room was on. Once he got half way down the stairs he could see Steve sitting on the couch hunched over the table that was covered in the photos that Danny had found in Wo Fat's house. Steve had no idea that Danny was even standing there.

Danny stood there for a few seconds as he saw Steve pick up one of the pictures. He hated this, he hated Wo Fat, he hated Wo Fat's dad and he hated Doris. As if Steve hadn't been through enough already, they had to come across those pictures. He really didn't know how much more Steve could take.

Steve finally heard Danny coming down the stairs and although he hadn't wanted Danny to see him this way, he was too spent to try and cover anything up.

Danny came and sat beside Steve on the couch.

"Have you been up all night?" Danny stomach was in knots as he looked at his partner. Steve had dark circles under his eyes and his eyes were red like he had been crying.

Steve nodded. "Yeah"

"I've been going over and over in my head, all the different scenarios, all the different ways that this," Steve pointed at the lot of pictures on the table. "...makes sense."

"What did you come up with?" Danny was glad that Steve was finally opening up about this. He had been worried about Steve since he had shown him those pictures.

"Half of these are from before I was born, from before Doris even met my dad, and the other half are from after I was born, and some from after Mary was born."

"Well we ruled out that he's not your brother..."

"Did we though?" Steve looked at Danny. "Yeah I ran a test but if anyone could get the results changed it would be my moth – it would be Doris."

Danny didn't miss Steve's slip up and correction on calling Doris his mom.

"That's true, but I really don't think she would have left Wo Fat if he was her son."

"She had no problem leaving me," Steve stated matter-of-factly as he looked Danny in the eye.

Danny's heart shattered. The pain laced within those words were hard to take in. Danny couldn't imagine his mom leaving when he was 16, the lifelong scars that that would have created. Steve never had a chance to cope, he never had a chance to get closure because his mom's "death" was surrounded by secrecy and lies; two decades later and he was still dealing with the aftermath of that day.

"She said she left to protect you guys right, to keep you safe?"

"She says a lot of things Danny, and the majority of them are lies, I can't differentiate between the two any more."

Danny looked at Steve. The way Steve was speaking, the way he was acting, it was calm and controlled; Steve definitely had his wall up.

"I know, and as much as I hate your mother right now, I really do think she left thinking she was keeping you guys safe."

Steve scoffed.

"Don't take her side, she doesn't deserve it."

"I'm not taking her side Steve, I just don't want you to spiral out of control before you know all the facts. I am ALWAYS on your side okay, don't you dare doubt that for a second."

Steve looked apologetically at Danny, the wall was starting to come down.

"I know...I'm sorry Danno, I just...it's just one thing after another you know. I just feel like my entire life has been a lie, and I still don't know all the facts. As I get older the questions just keep piling up, and not a single one of them is answered."

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I know babe."

"And who knows when Doris will show up again. It could be a week from now, a year, 5 years, 20 years, you just don't know with her. And even if she does show up, she'll probably lie her way out of this one too. Great mom huh?"

Steve shook his head as he drew his attention back to the pictures.

"Look how happy they look, all of them. They look like a family."

Danny picked up a picture from the table, he imaged being in Steve's shoes, he couldn't even begin to imagine how painful seeing these photos were. It was like a slap in the face; these pictures were painful reminders of the lies that have cloaked the McGarrett family for decades, lies that tore their lives apart.

Steve had been through more than anyone should endure in a two lifetimes, and now that Wo Fat's dad was back, Danny had a sickening feeling that Steve was in for another wave of torment.

Danny looked at Steve and could see the toll all of this was taking on him physically and emotionally. It didn't help that Steve was still recovering from everything Wo Fat had done to him. With everything piling on at once it was almost as if the universe was trying to see how invincible the mighty Steve McGarrett really was.

Danny shook his head.

"I wish there was something I could do to help you babe."

Steve looked up at Danny and gave him a small smile.

"You're doing it Danno."

Danny smiled back. He knew that this was just the beginning of the storm but he also knew that no matter what happened, no matter what Steve found out, he was going to be right there beside him, they would weather this storm together as they did everything else.

**TBC...**


	22. Get Out of Jail Free Card

**You guys are too good to me! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews each and every chapter. I'm sorry I've dropped the ball on PMing each and every one of you to say thank you during the last few chapters, I've been so swamped! But thank you for understanding and loving this story as much as you do! I wanted to tie up a few lose ends in this chapter before we got the deep and heavy stuff coming up! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 22**

It had been a few days since they had found those pictures in Yeun's luggage and Danny had noticed the change in Steve since that day. He rarely joked around, when Danny would lecture him he wouldn't give a smart remark back, and when they all went out Steve was eerily quiet. Anytime he looked at his partner he looked like he was miles away, he could almost see the wheels constantly turning in Steve's head. He always joked that Steve's mind must be a terrifying place, but he couldn't even imagine what was going on in there now after everything he had learned.

Danny was in his office when he saw Steve leave his own office and head outside. Danny grabbed his badge and gun and ran after his partner.

"Hey, where you going?" Danny caught up with Steve.

"I'm just going to check something out; I'll be back in a bit."

"What are you checking out?"

"It's nothing; I'll be back in a bit."

Danny could tell Steve was on a mission and jumped into the passenger seat. Steve looked at him incredulously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting."

"Yeah I see that, but what are you doing, I said I'll be back in a bit."

Danny pierced his lips together.

"Well, when you, my friend, get aneurysm face and say you'll be back in a bit, it means you're up to something, and seeing as you're not fully recovered yet, you're not doing whatever it is that you're gonna do, alone."

Steve shook his head.

"I'm not a child Danny I don't need you to babysit me okay."

"I know you're not a child Steven, although you act like one a lot, but that's beside the point. I'm not moving, so you can either waste more time interrogating me OR we can go "check something out" together...your choice babe."

Steve looked at Danny as if contemplating the decision before him. Finally he turned on the engine and buckled up.

"You're incredibly annoying you know that."

Danny smiled.

"I'm okay with that. So where are we going anyways?"

Steve looked straight ahead.

"To see Joe White."

* * *

Danny and Steve walked into the Lunar Cafe. Joe saw them from the back of the room and stood up as the two approached.

Joe opened his mouth to say hello when Steve slammed the envelope of pictures into his chest.

"What do you know about these?"

"Well hello to you too Steve," Joe grabbed a hold of the envelope as he looked from Steve to Danny.

"What's with his mood?"

"Joe! What do you know about those pictures?"

Joe opened the envelope and his eyes widened at the pictures he was holding.

"Where did you get these?"

"It's doesn't matter where I got them from, what do you know about them?"

Joe looked at Steve sympathetically knowing that this must be eating him alive.

"I don't know anything Steve; I've never seen these before in my life."

Steve clenched his teeth and got in Joe's face.

"Don't lie to me!"

_Angry. That was another emotion Steve had been displaying a lot since he saw those photos._

The entire restaurant turned their attention to the three men as Danny stepped in between Joe and Steve.

"Hey, easy Steve. He said he didn't know."

Steve looked at Danny, offended that he would stick up for Joe.

"Yeah he also convinced me for months that he had no idea where my mother was."

"Look at him Steve; you saw how shocked he looked when he saw those pictures."

Steve looked from Danny to Joe.

"Or maybe he was just shocked that _I_ finally saw those pictures!"

"Steve, son, I swear to you I don't know anything about these."

"Where's Doris?"

"I don't know."

"Where is she!" Steve's voice became loud again.

"I DON'T know Steve! And that's the truth."

Steve was fuming; he knew he wasn't going to get any answers from Joe.

"Fine, I'll just find her myself."

And with that Steve turned around and started to walk out of the cafe.

"And how are you gonna do that?" Joe yelled after him but Steve was already out the door with Danny in tow.

"Steve, hey Steve," Danny grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"You're not going after Doris, not yet at least."

"I'd like to see you try and stop me." Steve yanked his hand back from Danny's grip and headed towards his truck.

"Look...I get you're angry okay...I would be angry too but – "

Steve spun around and got in Danny's face.

"You get I'm angry? That's good Danny, really, I'm glad you _get_ that I'm angry."

"Steve..." Danny took a step back.

"You don't get it okay, and you never will. You didn't have your life ripped apart at 16, you didn't have to listen to your father be murdered over the phone, you're not still wondering why your mother has lied to you your entire life. So don't act like you _get_ it.

Danny tried to mask a bit of the hurt he felt at Steve's comments. He may not understand what Steve was going through but _he_ was the one who had been there for Steve the last few weeks, _he_ was the one who had comforted him and stood by his side through everything.

"I may not have gone through the things that you went through, but I know the kind of anger that you're feeling."

Steve mockingly laughed.

"How Danny, huh? Because your brother's in jail? Give me a break."

Steve knew the instant those words left his mouth that he would regret it, and the look in Danny's eyes confirmed it.

"Screw you Steve."

And with that Danny started walking away from the truck as Steve hung his head.

"Where are you going," Steve yelled after him.

Danny just ignored him and kept walking.

"You don't even have a ride!"

"I'll cab it back!"

"Danny!"

Steve slammed his hands on the hood of his car and then leaned against his elbow.

He had messed up, big time.

* * *

Steve walked through the doors at headquarters.

"Is Danny back yet?"

Chin looked up and him inquisitively.

"I thought he was with you?"

Steve looked at the ground.

"He was, I uh, I said something I shouldn't have and he took off."

Chin knew that Steve had been acting different lately, more on edge, more erratic, more angry, and he had a feeling that sooner or later Danny, who spent the most time with Steve, was going to get the brunt of it.

"I get you're angry, but don't take it out on the one person who has stuck by you through all of it."

Steve looked at Chin guiltily.

"I know; I messed up."

Chin smiled, if Steve knew he messed up then him and Danny would be just fine.

"Don't worry, he'll show up soon Steve, he's probably just blowing off some steam."

Sure enough, 5 minutes later Danny came through the doors, Chin was the first to walk up to him.

"Hey brah, Steve wanted to see you in his office."

Danny rolled his eyes, clearly still annoyed.

"Good for him," Danny went to brush past Chin when Chin grabbed his arm.

"Danny...you should really go see him."

Danny saw the seriousness in Chin's eyes and thinking it might be something important Danny walked into his partner's office.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Danny...hey..."

"What do you want Steve?"

"Okay you're pissed, I get that..."

"Oh you GET that do you, that's good I'm glad you _get_ it."

Steve knew that was a jab at him from their earlier conversation when he said very similar words to Danny.

Steve took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Danny, I shouldn't have said what I said, I was way out of line."

"You're damn right you were way out of line. You know what Matt betraying you did to me, so you don't get to throw that in my face! You can be pissed all you want but let's get one thing straight, I'm not your punching bag, and you do not get to push me away."

Steve looked at Danny and then back to the ground.

"I know...Danny I'm really sorry for what I said. I don't know what's gotten into me man. I don't even feel like me anymore. All I can think about are those pictures and what they mean. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Danny looked at Steve and how completely defeated he looked and all of his anger instantly faded.

"I know, and I know how badly you want to find Doris to get those answers, but I am telling you, you can't do it right now, not just yet. But I promise you, when you are 100% healthy, when you have the go ahead from your doctors to return to full duty, we will track Doris down no matter what it takes, no matter where she is, and we will get you those answers, together, okay?"

Steve looked up at Danny and wondered how he got so lucky to find such an amazing partner and friend.

Steve nodded.

"Okay."

"Okay." Danny reiterated as he squeezed Steve's shoulder.

* * *

Since Grace only had half a school day today, and Rachel, Stan, and Amber were all out of town, Danny had taken a half-day at work and was getting ready to leave his office to grab Grace from school.

On his way out he stopped by Steve's office.

"Hey."

"Hey Danno, whatsup?"

"Grace has a half day at school today so I'm going to pick her up, why don't you take a half-day too? I asked Chin and Kono and it's pretty quiet right now and they can hold down the fort. What do you say? I know Grace would love to hang out with you."

Steve contemplated the idea for a second. He wasn't doing much at work and it would be nice to see Grace. Spending time with her seemed to be the only thing that could put a smile on his face these days.

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

When they arrived at Grace's school they could see her standing on the stairs by herself. Danny squinted his eyes a little, usually Grace was surrounded by her friends but the were on the other side of the stairs. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Two seconds after they pulled within Grace's view she ran down the stairs and jumped in the car.

"Uncle Steve! She reached around from the back seat and grabbed him into a tight hug."

Steve couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Hey Gracie."

She then reached around and gave Danny a hug too.

"Hi Danno."

"Hey baby."

"Uncle Steve did you take a half-day like Danno too?" She looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"I sure did."

Danny didn't think Grace's smile could get any bigger and it melted his heart how much his little girl loved Steve.

"This is the best day ever!"

Grace sat back and buckled up as they headed home.

* * *

Danny was in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch as Steve and Grace sat at the kitchen table playing "Guess Who".

"Monkey where do you want to go today? We have all day, do you want to call your friends so that we could all go to the aquarium, or go to the beach, or – "

"No thanks Danno, I just want to stay here with you and Uncle Steve."

Danny looked at her curiously; first the school steps now this. Grace always loved to spend time outside and with her friends.

"Of course monkey but is there a reason why you don't want to go out with your friends?"

"No..." Grace sunk a little in her chair.

Steve could clearly tell that Grace was hiding something.

"Gracie...you know you can tell us anything right, if something is bothering you?"

Grace looked up at Steve shyly.

"I know...it's just dumb."

Danny stopped making the sandwiches and walked over to Grace and pulled up a seat beside her.

"Gracie, I want you to listen to me and listen to me very carefully okay. How you feel is not dumb, no matter how silly you may think it is, I'll never, ever think your feelings are dumb okay? And neither will Uncle Steve."

Grace nodded and smiled at Danny.

"So what is it baby? Why don't you want to hang out with your friends?"

Grace took a deep breath.

"They all talk about Uncle Matt and what a horrible person he is for what he did to you Uncle Steve."

Danny's face paled and Steve closed his eyes and hung his head.

"Gracie..."

"And I'm so mad at him Uncle Steve; I don't even know if I want to see him again, you almost died because of him! I just don't like them talking about it all the time because it just reminds me of what he did and it makes me sad."

Grace started to sniffle and Danny grabbed her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry monkey."

"It's okay Danno," Grace wiped her nose as she pulled out of the hug with Danny.

Steve grabbed a hold of her hand.

"Gracie, I want you to listen to me okay. Next time your friends say anything about your Uncle Matt I want you to tell them something okay?"

This got Grace's attention.

"Okay Uncle Steve, what do you want me to tell them?"

Danny was looking at Steve too.

"I want you to tell them that your Uncle Matt was sick."

Grace looked up at Steve.

"What do you mean he was sick? Like he had a cold?"

Steve smiled; he wished she could stay this innocent forever.

"No Gracie, he was sick in the head, he had an addiction and it made him do things he normally wouldn't do."

"What's an addiction Uncle Steve?"

"An addiction is a sickness where someone needs something really badly that they're willing to do anything to get it."

Grace looked up for a second as if trying to take in what Steve had said.

"My friend Billy's dad gambles a lot and always loses a lot of money but he always goes back to gamble, is that an addiction?"

Steve smiled; Grace always did pick up on things really quickly.

"Yeah Gracie, that's an addiction, and your Uncle Matt had an addiction. So the next time your friends say something bad about your Uncle Matt just let them know that he was sick and that hopefully one day he'll get better and be the Uncle Matt you knew before."

"Do you really think he can get better?"

Steve wasn't sure if Matt could or not but he had to say something to restore Grace's faith and cheer the little girl up.

"Yeah, I really do."

Grace smiled and gave Steve a big hug.

Danny looked at Steve and mouthed "Thank you". Steve nodded in response.

"Do you feel better now babe? You know what to tell your friends when you see them?" Danny looked over at Grace.

"Yeah Danno, I feel better now, but can we still just hang out just the three of us, I want to play board games and watch Uncle Steve's ninja movies."

"Ah a girl after my own heart," Steve smiled as he ruffled Grace's hair.

Danny rolled his eyes and got up to finish making the sandwiches.

"Of course we can still hang out just the three of us monkey, why don't you go get cleaned up for lunch I'm almost done with these sandwiches."

"Okay Danno."

Grace got up and ran up the stairs.

Danny watched Grace go up the stairs and then hung his head.

"You okay?"

Danny was quiet for a few seconds.

"She should never have to go through that."

"I know."

"I hate him."

Steve's head snapped up.

"Danny, he's your little brother."

"So?"

"So...he's your family. I wasn't kidding when I told Gracie that he was sick."

Danny shook his head.

"I don't care Steve."

"I get you're mad at him but – "

Danny looked up with wide eyes.

"Mad at him doesn't even begin to cover it; I can't even stand the thought of him."

"Give it time Danny; I think you can learn to forgive him."

Steve hadn't forgiven Matt yet himself but he really hated the fact that Danny seemed to hate his brother more than life itself.

Danny shook his head and looked Steve in the eye.

"You really don't get it do you? I am never going to be able to forgive him. I may be able to be in the same room as him again one day, but he's never going to be my brother again, we're never going to be close again. Every time I think of him, or see a picture of him, or hear his name, I'm right back in that warehouse, I'm right back in that cellar, I'm right back outside your hospital room as they're shocking you back to life. I can't wipe those images from my head, I can't shake those gut wrenching feelings. You can forgive him if you want I'm not going to stop you, just don't ask me to do the same, because I can't, and I really need you to see that."

Steve could see the anguish in Danny's eyes and it broke his heart. He could also see that this wasn't a phase, this wasn't just Danny's anger speaking, this was Danny in his truest form. Danny was deathly loyal and Matt had broken his trust in the worst way possible.

"Yeah, I get it Danno."

Danny took a deep breath.

"Thank you."

* * *

– Next day at Kawala Correctional Facility –

Matt sat in his cell staring at the wall. He had been in prison a few weeks now, and his pre-trial hearing was coming up soon. Because of his past, Matt wasn't granted a bail hearing as the judge didn't trust that Matt wouldn't flee the country the minute he got the chance.

He knew he was going to jail and he had accepted that; he knew he deserved it after what he had done.

"Williams you have a visitor."

Matt snapped out of his thoughts, he couldn't have heard right though. He had a visitor? He hadn't had one single visitor since he arrived in this place.

Matt followed the guard out to the visitation area and almost froze when he saw who was waiting for him.

"Steve..."

"Hey..." Steve took a deep breath as Matt sat down in front of him. This was the first time since the warehouse that he had seen Matt. All the memories from the warehouse came flooding back to him and for a brief second he wondered why he had come here, wondered why he was trying to help the person who had set him up, but one look at Danny's younger brother and Steve knew he had done the right thing.

Matt looked terrible. He had clearly been in a fight as he had a black eye and a few scrapes on his face.

"Steve...you're okay..." Matt looked at the ground ashamed to even look Steve in the eyes. "I am so sorry, for everything, I – "

"What happened to your face?"

Matt looked up at Steve.

"Uh...a couple of the guys in my block took a disliking to me really quickly."

"Did they do anything else to you?" Even after being betrayed Steve felt protective over Danny's little brother.

Matt shook his head knowing what Steve meant.

"No, they just rough me up every now and then."

Steve noticed Matt reaching for his neck where an obvious scar from a fork puncture was visible.

"It's okay though, it's not so bad, sort of just see it as my Karma for everything I did."

Steve nodded and looked away, he didn't think it was going to be this difficult to talk to Matt; he had no idea what to even say to him.

"Steve...I really am so sorry. What I did, I know it's unforgivable. If I could go back in time to when Wo Fat first made that deal with me, I wouldn't take it, not after I saw what he did to you."

Steve looked up.

"You mean at the warehouse?"

Matt shook his head.

"No, at the hospital, Danny uh, Danny made me come to your room, made me see what my deal had done to you."

Matt's eyes filled with tears.

"You were nothing but good to me, you acted like an older brother, and to see what Wo Fat had done to you...I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am."

Steve looked at Matt and could see the sincerity in his words.

"I forgive you."

Matt looked up and Steve could tell that that was the last thing he had expected him to say.

"What...Why?"

"Because I don't think you're a bad guy Matt. I see how much you love Gracie; I see how much you love Danny. You have a problem and Wo Fat knew how to use that to his advantage."

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve you forgiveness," Matt was visibly shaking.

"Well you have it, and I'm going to talk to the Governor, have your charges dropped on the condition that you get professional help and go to rehab."

Matt's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his sockets.

"What...Steve..."

Matt was at a loss for words.

"I'm not just doing this for you, if you go to prison for this you could be locked away for a very, very long time. You'll never get to see Grace grow up, see your parents, or Danny."

"I think Danny would like that," Matt smiled a sad smile.

"Danny might come around in time, he might be able to forgive you one day." Steve knew this might not be the case but for some reason, looking at the look on Matt's face, he felt like he should give the guy some hope.

Matt shook his head.

"No, he won't. You're his best friend, he's never going to forgive me for what I did to you, hell Gracie probably won't, she worships the ground you walk on."

"Well you'll just have to go to rehab, get better, and convince them that you've changed, that you deserve another chance."

Matt looked up at Steve in awe.

"I see why Danny and Grace think the world of you...thank you."

Steve nodded as he stood up to leave.

"Just make sure you don't skip out on your rehab sessions, or you'll be right back in here and I won't be able to help you out."

"I promise I won't miss a single one, and Steve."

"Yeah."

"I really am glad you're okay."

Steve nodded his head.

"I know Matt."

* * *

After Steve left the correctional facility he headed back to the precinct to meet up with his team.

"How was the doctors visit babe," Danny was the first out of his office.

"Uh, can I talk to you in your office for a sec?" Steve nudged Danny back in the direction he came from. When they got into Danny's office he closed the door.

"Is everything okay?" Danny was worried that the appointment hadn't gone well.

"Look before I tell you what it is, just, don't get mad okay?"

Danny narrowed his eyes; anytime Steve asked him not to get mad he often ended up furious.

"What did you do?"

"Why would you assume I did something?"

"Because Steven, when you tell me not to get mad it means you've gone and done stupid that you know is gonna make me mad."

Steve grinned and nodded.

"Okay, fine. I didn't have a doctor's appointment this morning, I uh...I went to see Matt."

Danny's eyes went wide.

"Excuse me you what?"

"Look Danny, I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks and after talking to Grace yesterday, I don't know. Matt really is sick, he needs to get help, not be locked away in prison."

Danny was speechless. Had Steve lost his mind?

"He can get help IN prison!"

"He won't survive in prison Danny, you should've seen him, he was already beaten up."

Steve could instantly see a slight hint of worry in Danny's eyes at the news Steve had just told him, but Danny quickly covered it up.

"Yeah well, he should've thought about the consequences before he did what he did."

"Danny..."

Danny put his hand up.

"Don't Steve; I don't want to hear it."

"You're probably really not going to want to hear this then. I'm going to speak to the Governor, get a plea bargain on the table for him, no jail time but he has to go to rehab, get his life back on track."

Danny looked up at Steve.

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Why the hell would you do that? He deserves to be in jail!"

"He's been in jail for a month Danny, look man I know what he did was terrible, and I know what he did to you, what he did to me, and as much as you hate him right now, I think you'll see down the line that this is for the best."

"How is this for the best?"

"Think of your parents, of Gracie. If Matt is found guilty, which he will be, he's gonna go away for decades, your parents will never see him free ever again, Gracie won't see him till he's old and grey."

Danny knew Steve was right. Telling his parents and Grace what Matt had done was one of the hardest things he's ever had to do, and then to have to tell them that he was going to be in prison for a very long time was devastating. He could still hear his mother's cry when he had told her, it broke his heart.

"And you wouldn't see him for a long time either."

That part Danny did not care about.

"I'm okay with that."

"You say that now, but it will eat you up man. And besides, I don't want your little brother rotting away in jail for the rest of his life; he's going to lose himself in there."

Danny looked at Steve and as furious as he was, he was also in awe; the size of Steve's heart never seized to amaze him. After everything that Matt had done to him he was still trying to protect the kid, keep him safe.

"Are you pissed at me?"

Danny smiled and let a little laugh escape at Steve's child-like tone.

"No Steve I'm not pissed at you. Your heart man, it's too big for your own good you know that."

Steve smiled.

"It's gotta match my head right."

Danny let out a small laugh.

"Yeah I guess so."

Danny leaned back against his table and sat on the edge as he tried to let everything Steve had just said to him sink in.

"My parents are gonna be really happy."

"Good, no parents should have to watch their kids suffer, especially amazing parents like yours."

"Yeah, man you're just – "

"COMMANDER MCGARRETT!"

Danny, Steve, Kono, and Chin were all out of their offices in a matter of seconds, guns trained on the man standing at the entrance.

"FREEZE! DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP, PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

"There you are Commander, I hear you've been looking for me," Yeun smiled sadistically as he raised his hands in the air.

**TBC...**


	23. The Case of the Deadly Anthuriums

**Chapter 23**

"FREEZE! DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP, PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

"There you are Commander, I hear you've been looking for me," Yeun smiled sadistically as he raised his hands in the air.

Steve and Danny approach Yeun cautiously as Chin and Kono kept their guns trained on his head.

Steve grabbed Yeun's hands and cuffed them behind his back, read him his rights, and escorted him to their interrogation room with Danny right behind him.

* * *

Once in the room Danny sat Yeun down in the hot seat as him and McGarrett stared down at him.

"Commander, Detective, it's a pleasure, I've heard so much about the two of you."

Steve took a long hard look at the man in front of him. The images of his mother and Yeun in the photos with Wo Fat started playing across Steve's mind like a video on repeat; image after image coursing through his head. The man he was staring at, the man who was sitting a mere inches away had known Doris before he was even born, knew about an entire life that Doris had built before his father, before Mary, before him. He was sure that Yeun had the answers he wanted, the answers he needed, and as tempting as it was to try and pry the truth out of him right here and now, he knew this wasn't the time or place; they had a murder to solve.

"Why did you have Mike Kapule's son Kalika killed?" Steve stood with his arms crossed.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to Commander; I've never even met Mike or Kalika. I've heard of them of course, but never had the honour of meeting them."

Steve smiled and looked at Danny as Danny approached Yeun.

"That's cute, Yeun, really, you see we actually have evidence tying you to this murder, we don't just bring people in and randomly accuse them of killing somebody, that would just be stupid."

Yeun turned his attention to Danny and smiled.

"Detective Williams, I hear that you're the one who put a bullet in my son's head," Yeun stared defiantly into Danny's eyes as Danny had bent down and was face to face with him. There was a slight change in Yeun's expression. The blasé, calm, cool, and collected demeanor he was displaying seconds ago seemed to have been replaced with a controlled and subtle glimmer of hatred and spite.

Danny looked at the man who was half responsible for bringing Wo Fat into this world, into Steve's world. The hatred he felt for Wo Fat came flooding back, everything Wo Fat had done to Steve, all the pain he had put him through, all the suffering; he was glad that animal was dead and he didn't care if his psychotic father knew.

"And I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Yeun raised his head a little higher as the smile on his face started to waver.

Steve could see the change in Yeun immediately and he knew that smile masked something darker, something sadistic, he couldn't quite put his finger on it but every instinct in him wanted to get Danny as far away from Yeun as possible.

Steve let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as Danny took a step back from Yeun.

"We know you gave a gun to Moliko, who then went and killed Kalika."

"I've never met anyone named Moliko Commander."

Steve pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of Moliko and turned his phone to face Yeun.

"Let me refresh your memory."

Yeun stared at the picture and looked back up at Steve.

"Like I said, I've never seen him before."

Danny scratched the side of his face as he smiled at Yeun.

"Well, lucky for us, we have proof that you do indeed know Moliko and that you handed him a gun."

"I would really love to see this proof Detective."

"You will, really soon," and with that Steve and Danny started heading out of the interrogation room. They knew Yeun wasn't going to confess to anything, the only way to nail him was to find Moliko and that gun he used. Yeun handing Moliko a gun wasn't enough evidence to charge him with orchestrating a murder, they needed the actual gun first.

"By the way Commander, you know what I really love about Hawaii?"

Steve was half way out the door when he stopped and turned around.

"The Anthuriums, they're just such a beautiful flowers don't you think?"

Steve just shook his head and closed the door behind him.

"Anthuriums? What the hell was that about?" Danny looked at Steve.

"I have no idea, maybe he's just really into flow-" Steve froze on spot as his head snapped towards Danny.

"What?"

"Anthuriums...Danny... Lahani's dress, it had Anthuriums on it when she came to see us."

Danny's eyes widened as he clued into what Steve was thinking. The two ran into the main office where Chin and Kono were standing by the computer.

"Send HPD to Lahani's house now!"

Kono immediately got on the phone with HPD.

"Lahani's house? What's going on?"

"We'll explain on the way, let's go!"

* * *

By the time Chin, Kono, Steve, and Danny got to Lahani's house HPD had already gotten there.

Steve dropped his head as he walked into the house. There lying a few feet in front of him were Moliko and Lahani.

Steve bent down over the bodies as an HPD officer came up beside him.

"From the initial looks of it, it seems like Moliko shot Lahani and then shot himself about an hour and half ago."

Steve looked up at the HPD officer then up at Danny and shook his head, but Danny already knew, he knew this whole thing had been staged, he knew that Moliko and Lahani had been murdered in order to keep their mouths shut. Yeun got word that they were dead and turned himself in to 5-0 knowing that the only evidence they had against him was now gone.

* * *

Danny and Steve headed back to headquarters while Chin and Kono stayed behind at the crime scene.

Steve stormed in through the doors and headed straight for the interrogation room where they had left Yeun.

Steve had had enough, he was done playing nice. Steve grabbed Yeun and slammed him up against the wall.

"You son of a bitch!"

Yeun smiled at Steve as his head slammed into the concrete wall behind him.

"You had them killed!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Commander."

"Like hell you don't! You knew they were our connection to you and Kalika's murder, and you had them killed because of it."

"Like I said...I have no idea what you're talking about Commander, and I'd get your hands off of me if I were you, this is police brutality, I could have your job for this."

Steve got closer to Yeun's face.

"I'd like to see you try."

Yeun and Steve stared definitely at each other before Yeun's expression changed completely.

"You know what Commander, I'm feeling awfully nice today so I'm not going to press any charges. Now seeing as the only evidence you thought you had against me is no longer accessible, you can remove these cuffs and I'll be on my way."

Steve gritted his teeth and looked over at Danny. Danny just shook his head and looked at the ground. The truth of the matter was, they knew they could no longer hold Yeun, they had nothing against him now that Moliko and Lahani were dead. Unless they found something to tie him to these deaths he was going to get away with all three.

Steve turned Yeun around and begrudgingly took his cuffs off.

As Yeun made his way to door he turned around and looked at Steve.

"Commander, tell you mother I said hi. Oh and you can keep those photos, I'm sure it's nice to get to see your mother's face, even if it is just in pictures."

Danny saw Steve's clenched fists and stepped in between Steve and Yeun. Yeun was goading him and Danny was not about to let Steve get in trouble for beating Yeun senseless.

Yeun smiled as he saw the anger in Steve's eyes. He then turned to Danny,

"Oh and Detective Williams, I look forward to seeing you again soon..."

And with that Yeun turned around and left.

* * *

A few days had passed since they had had to let Yeun go, and they weren't any closer to finding any leads that would tie Yeun to the murders of Lahani and Moliko. Whoever Yeun had hired to kill the couple had done an immaculate job of covering their tracks, not a single finger print, spec of DNA, or any other form of evidence was left behind at the crime scene.

The Governor had wanted this case solved quickly as the names of the deceased were known around Hawaii for having gang ties and the public were in a panic over the possibility of a gang war. With the lack of evidence in this case, HPD was forced to close the case as a murder-suicide. According to the case file Lahani had confronted Moliko when he had come home, he got angry and killed her and then killed himself.

Although HPD had closed this case Chin, Kono, Danny, and Steve were still working the case to try and find any connection at all to Yeun. They knew it may take awhile but they weren't giving up. The Governor had approved it as well so they could keep this case open at 5-0 as long as they needed to in order to put Yeun behind bars, as long as it didn't interfere with or take precedence over other cases that came up.

* * *

It was around 9pm and Danny had just pulled up to Steve's place. Steve had left early as he had had a physiotherapy appointment at 7pm.

As Danny opened the door and walked in he could see the light in Steve's study was on.

"Hey Steve you hungry, I was think – " Danny stopped mid sentence as he looked at the myriad of pictures and maps and papers laid out all over the desk as well as the floor. "What the hell is this?" Danny had a pretty good idea and he was less than thrilled about it.

"I'm looking for Doris."

Danny put his stuff down on the chair beside him.

"Why? I mean I know why but we agreed you can't go after her right now!"

"I'm almost back to 100% Danny, my physio session went great. Dr. Reid said I only needed one more session and I could go back to work with no restrictions."

Danny shook his head. He had been worried about this. He could see the improvement in Steve over the last few days, and as happy as he was that Steve was healthy again, he knew the minute Steve got the go ahead, he was going to start looking for Doris again. As much as Danny wanted Steve to get the answers he deserved, he knew the risks associated with any rogue op Steve ever went on. But he also knew that he had promised Steve that they would do this together. As much as he wanted Steve to let this go, he knew that Steve couldn't and wouldn't and he'd at least feel better knowing that he had Steve's back instead of Steve going in alone. So with a deep sigh Danny agreed.

"Okay, I'll help you look for her."

Steve looked up and smiled at Danny appreciatively.

"Thanks Danno."

Danny smiled back.

"This is the only way I can ensure that you don't get yourself killed. I'll have more peace of mind out there with you finding Doris than back here freaking out anytime you don't answer my phone call."

Steve looked up and smirked.

"You freak out when I don't pick up your calls? That's cute Danno, you love me."

Danny gave Steve a death glare.

"Shutup."

Steve laughed as Danny got up to head upstairs and change.

"I'm hungry I'm gonna order pizza, you want some?"

"Yeah, I'd love some actually I'm starving, I came home and started doing this, I completely forgot to eat."

Danny pierced his lips together

"Yeah I'm not surprised."

* * *

Twenty minutes later the two were still at it going through Steve's father's material.

Danny was going through a stack of papers when heard the doorbell ring. He knew that Steve was in a zone as he didn't even react to the doorbell, so he jumped up to get the door, grabbing his wallet on the way over.

Although Steve was completely enthralled in what he was doing he noticed that he hadn't heard the pizza delivery guy's voice and Danny hadn't said anything after the initial "hey" as he opened the door; something felt off.

Steve jumped up and headed for the living room.

"Danno, everything ok- " Danny turned around and the look in his eyes quickened Steve's pace as he tried to close the gap between him and his partner; something was definitely wrong. The door was blocking the view of the pizza delivery guy so Steve walked around until he was beside Danny and face to face with the person on the other side of the door.

Steve now knew why Danny looked like he had seen a ghost. Steve felt like his feet were glued to the ground as his heart started to beat a mile a minute.

"Doris..."

**TBC...**

**I know I didn't go too deep into the Yeun storyline here and his interactions with Steve and Danny but I promise you I have plans for that storyline later on... big plans :)**


	24. The Truth Won't Set You Free

**Well here it is, the moment of truth. It's pretty long and super text heavy so be prepared. Hope you enjoy :).**

**Chapter 24**

"Doris..."

Steve stood frozen as he couldn't believe that she was actually here. The shock of seeing her right now felt eerily similar to what he felt when he first found her alive in that cabin. The same feelings came rushing back as Steve swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Hey Steve, Danny," Doris smiled nervously as she stood outside the door.

Danny had his arm across the door, instinctively creating a barrier between Steve and Doris.

"You boys going to let me in?"

Danny looked back at Steve, silently asking him for permission. When Steve nodded Danny moved his arm out of the way.

Doris walked in and went straight over to Steve to give him a hug.

"Steve, I'm so glad yo-" her hug as well as her sentence were cut off by Steve who stepped back.

"Don't..."

Danny stood and watched uncomfortably as his best friend struggled to keep his emotions at bay.

"Steve, since when do you not give your mother a hug?"

Danny's eyebrows nearly hit the roof; Doris actually had the gall to ask that question?

"Since you came for Wo Fat's funeral but not to see your own son in the hospital," Steve stated matter-of-factly. Danny was impressed by how emotionless Steve had made that sound.

Doris snapped her head around as she looked at Danny accusingly.

"You told him? You knew it would only hurt him!"

Danny just about opened his mouth to defend his actions when Steve jumped in.

"No. You don't get to get angry at him. What did you expect Doris? That he would keep that from me? Unlike you, Danny actually knows that you don't keep secrets from the people you love."

Doris looked back at Steve as her eyes got a little glossy.

"Daniel, can you please give us some privacy, I want to speak to my son alone."

Before Danny could look at Steve to see if he wanted him to leave or stay, Steve answered for him.

"Danny stays, anything you have to say to me you can say in front of him. Besides you're probably just going to lie the entire time, so what does it matter?"

Doris didn't like that answer but knew that she really had no choice. She nodded and took a seat on the single chair in the living room.

As Danny closed the door and turned to head to the couch he saw that Steve hadn't moved. He looked like a statue, frozen in place. His eyes were on the ground and Danny could see a slight shake in Steve's hands. He was thankful that Steve had wanted him to stay because quite honestly, he needed to be here as much as Steve needed him here.

Danny walked up beside his partner and squeezed his shoulder. This got Steve's attention as he snapped out of his trance and looked at Danny. Danny's heart fell to his stomach as he saw the raw emotion in his partner's glossy eyes. The years of lies, deceit, and betrayal were etched so deep in those blue eyes that it took Danny's breath away.

Danny gave Steve a small smile reassuring smile, "I got you babe."

Steve smiled back. That was exactly what he had needed to hear, that was exactly why he _needed_ Danny here. Somewhere along the line Danny had become his rock, the only thing in his life that had kept him from drowning when everything seemed to be dragging him under.

Steve took a deep breath and sat down on the couch, Danny followed suit.

Steve looked up from his intertwined hands and into the eyes of his mother.

"Where have you been for the past year?"

"I've been moving around a lot, not staying in one place too long, I could give you a list of all the places but it might take awhile," Doris smiled at Steve but Steve remained stoic.

Seeing that Steve was definitely not going to throw her a bone she continued.

"It wasn't safe to come back Steve, I had to keep running, and I had to stay off the grid which is why I couldn't call or text."

"So if it wasn't safe, why would you come back for Wo Fat's funeral? Explain that me Doris because I just can't seem to wrap my head around that. You were hiding from Wo Fat, yet you show up to his funeral when you know everyone attending are most likely after you. Why would you risk everything just to say goodbye to him?"

Doris looked down at the ground as she held onto her hands tightly.

"It's like I told Danny Steve, I wanted to see Wo Fat go in the ground myself. I wanted to see for myself that the man who had caused my family so much pain was actually dead."

Steve closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as he looked down at the ground and shook his head.

"Stop lying. For once in your life just stop lying and tell me the truth."

Danny could hear the pain laced in those words and he felt for Steve, he had been lied to his entire life, enough was enough.

"I'm not lying Steve, I swear that's why I ca-" Doris stopped mid sentence as she watched Steve get up and storm out of the room like a man on a mission.

She then looked at Danny,

"Where is he going?"

Danny knew exactly where Steve was going, or better yet, exactly what he was going to go get. Before Danny could answer Steve charged back into the room throwing all the pictures from the envelope onto the coffee table in front of Doris.

Doris's eyes went wide in shock as she picked up picture after picture. Danny snuck a look at Steve who was hovering over his mother with a stone-cold face. He knew no matter how put-together Steve looked on the outside, he was breaking down piece-by-piece on the inside.

"Where did you get these..." Doris looked up at Steve with tears in her eyes.

"Why does it matter where I got those from? That's you isn't it, with Wo Fat and Yeun?"

Doris looked back down at the pictures and Danny couldn't believe the next words out of her mouth.

"No Steve...no, these are fake."

Steve saw this coming from a mile away.

"Stop lying,"

Doris stood up so that she was now face to face with Steve.

"Steve I swear to you, these are fa-"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Steve yelled into her face. Steve was breathing heavy as tears started to fill his eyes.

Doris was visibly shaking now and Danny sat a little bit straighter in his seat. Steve's calm, cool, demeanor was gone, the flood gates were now open and he knew that every emotion that Steve was about to go through would be on display for all to see.

Steve's anger dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared, and the devastation and pain laced in his next few words seemed so foreign to the Navy SEAL that he barely recognized his own voice.

"Mom...please...for once in your life, just tell me the truth, I deserve that much."

Danny's heart broke. Steve sounded like a lost child. He hadn't heard Steve call Doris, mom, in a very long time, that showed him how desperate Steve had become to get answers.

Doris looked at Steve's tear filled eyes and knew right then and there that this was it. She could no longer hide the truth from him, no longer try and protect his feelings; it was time to come clean.

Doris took a deep breath and took a hold of Steve's hand.

"You're right."

Steve looked up and the desperation he felt was quickly replaced with anxiousness; he was finally going to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; or so he hoped.

"You're right; this has gone on long enough, I can't keep this from you anymore. Sit down Steve, I'll tell you everything."

Danny moved over as Steve came and sat back down on the couch. This was it, the moment Steve had been waiting for for years. Danny couldn't help but feel like this moment right now, the quiet and almost peaceful moment that had filled the room only moments ago, was just the calm before the very gigantic, very massive, very destructive storm and he braced himself because not only would he have to make it past the storm, he had to make sure he brought Steve through it too.

"It started when I was with the agency, well before I met your father. I was working for a small team headed by someone who I considered my role model. He took me in as a rookie and taught me everything I knew. Not only that but he gave me confidence, he trusted my instincts, and eventually I was his head of command when it came to completing missions. About 2 years in, we ran an unsanctioned op. I didn't know at the time that it was unsanctioned, I took my orders from him and never questioned it, I didn't think I had a reason to."

"The op was to take out Yeun," Steve chimed in remembering his conversation with the agent he had killed after the explosion that had him and Danny trapped.

"Yes. It was to take out Yeun. We were given intel that Yeun was responsible for numerous murders all over the world and was a threat to national security. Everything was set up to take him out, we had it all planned, or so we thought," Doris looked down at the ground and closed her eyes as the memories came flooding back.

"On the day of the op we followed Yeun's car. Once the car was parked I was given orders to take him out. It was dark and I couldn't tell if it was Yeun in the car or not. I told my superior that, but he told me to stick with the plan, that no one else ever drove Yeun's car besides him, his wife didn't even know how to drive. I took the shot and when we approached the vehicle," Doris paused as she recounted that tragic day. She took a second to collect her thoughts and continued. "When we approach the vehicle Lei Kuan was in the car, turns out she got her license two weeks before, we had no idea."

Doris looked up at Steve and Danny with tears in her eyes.

"I killed an innocent woman that day."

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat. As much as he hated Doris for everything she had put Steve through, he felt bad for her. Taking a life is never easy, but taking the wrong life...he couldn't imagine what carrying that kind of a weight around would feel like.

"You were just following orders Doris, you were practically a rookie, when they tell you to take the shot you take the shot, which is what you did," Steve tried to reassure her.

"Doesn't matter, that kind of weight never leaves you, you never get over taking an innocent life," Doris shook her head and Steve nodded in understanding. In all his time in the Navy, he had never had to take an innocent life, and he couldn't imagine the toll it would have taken on him if he had.

"How did your superior cover up Lei Kuan's death?" Steve chimed in.

"The area of town she was in was really corrupt and riddled with crime. We managed to make it look like a robbery gone bad. There had been a string of robberies in recent days and we just made it seem like this was one of them, but that this one had turned violent and deadly. It worked; it was all over the news and papers, even Yeun believed it."

"Anyways, when the Pentagon found out, my superior was let go. We were told that the mission to take out Yeun was unsanctioned. I was completely shocked and completely destroyed. I had killed an innocent woman during a mission that wasn't even authorized by the Pentagon," Doris shook her head remembering how she felt when she had found out.

"Once my superior was let go, the Pentagon still wanted me, they said my skill set was impressive and that what had happened wasn't on me. I was assigned to another team who was also looking into Yeun. Their eventual mission was to bring him in, alive, they needed him alive. I found out a little while later that they had a son, he was only 3 at the time," tears filled Doris's eyes again.

"I took away a 3 year old boy's mother."

Steve and Danny both looked at the ground not knowing what to say.

"I was the only woman on my team and they thought I could use that to my advantage to get close with the Fat family. I was placed as a teacher in Wo Fat's private Montessori. At first I couldn't stand to look at him, I didn't think I deserved to be in the same room as him. But slowly I started getting close to him, I would give him extra attention, let him play a little while longer than the other kids. This one day, I saw him crying in the corner and I asked him if everything was okay. He told me that he missed his mommy and he fell into my arms crying. I knew right then and there that I had to look out for him, that I had to protect him from what was going to happen to his father once we took him down. I had taken his mother away from him; it was my job to take care of him now."

Steve tried to imagine a 3 year old Wo Fat. It was hard to believe that the monster that he had come to know and hate was once an innocent child.

"Overtime I got closer and closer to Wo Fat, and Yeun could see this. He could see how happy it made Wo Fat, having me as his teacher. I slowly started to see them outside of school and before I knew it I was seeing Wo Fat almost every day, even when it wasn't in school. My superiors were happy; everything was going according to plan."

Doris stopped there as she let Steve comprehend everything he was hearing.

Steve took a deep breath as he let all of the information digest. So this was how Doris came to know Wo Fat. He was glad that Wo Fat wasn't his brother, but he was also dreading hearing how close Doris and Wo Fat really were.

"So that's where all of those pictures were from, your time with Wo Fat."

Doris looked up and gave Steve a sad smile.

"Yeah. I got really close with Wo Fat, and even Yeun. At the time it almost felt like we were a family."

Danny noticed Steve clench his jaw.

"As the years went on I started to see Yeun in a different light too. He was no longer this monster that the Pentagon had painted him out to be. I mean, I knew what he had done, I knew all the lives he had taken, but I saw a softer side to him, a father who loved his son and a husband who missed his wife. My superiors loved how much time I was spending with Wo Fat and Yeun because the closer I got to Yeun, the easier it would be to put him away. I was brining in information that I had been finding around the house and in his office. But the older Wo Fat got and the closer I got with him and Yeun the more I started to realize two significant things; I wanted a family of my own and the line between being an operative and being a surrogate mother to Wo Fat was becoming increasingly blurred. I started to slip up and miss key information that Yeun was passing onto his associates. Sometimes I was even purposely turning a blind eye and not reporting things back to the Pentagon. I knew what I was doing was wrong so I spoke to my Superiors, I told them everything. They said I was suffering from PTSD and that I was right, I needed to step away from this case; I needed to leave the agency for awhile and get myself together. So I left, I told Wo Fat and Yeun that I had gotten a job in Hawaii and that I was moving."

"I'm sure they didn't take that well."

"Yeun understood, but Wo Fat, he was only 9 he didn't really get why I had to leave, he was devastated," tears sprung to Doris's eyes again as she remembered saying goodbye to Wo Fat. "He wouldn't let go of me, he grabbed onto my leg as I was leaving their house, it killed me to leave but I knew I didn't have a choice, I had gotten in way over my head, and I hated myself for it. I was supposed to a professional, I knew better than to get emotionally attached, but I loved that little boy like he was my own, I practically raised him."

Steve felt like he had been punched in the gut. Even after hearing everything he had heard, those last few words from his mom were hard to swallow. Doris loved Wo Fat, Doris had raised Wo Fat for years...Doris LOVED Wo Fat.

Danny looked over at Steve and could see the effect of Doris's words. Steve was holding his shaky left hand in his right. Hearing that Doris loved Wo Fat was a shock to his system, he couldn't even imagine what Steve was going through.

Doris could see how hard hearing this was on Steve, and she truly felt bad for the pain she knew she was causing him. She leaned forward in her chair and reached over the table to grab Steve's hands in hers.

"I'm so sorry Steve; I know how hard this is for you to hear, after everything that's happened. But you have to understand, this was before your dad, before you, before Mary, before Wo Fat became who he became. He was just a grieving child who had lost his mother."

Steve merely nodded in response, not really knowing what to say.

Doris sighed as she sat back and continued.

"When I moved to Hawaii I met you father and fell in love with him. I didn't want to complicate his life, he was a good man, with an amazing heart and I just couldn't bring myself to burden him with my life before him."

"So you lied to him."

"Yes I lied to him. I lied to him because I loved him, I didn't think my past would affect my life with him. I wanted to put all of that behind me and start fresh."

Steve look up with furrowed eyebrows.

"Wait, if you wanted to put everything behind you and start fresh why did you go back to visit them? I mean some of these pictures are from after you and dad got together, after Mary and me."

Doris nodded.

"I wasn't planning on going back to see them, but after spending a year away, I missed Wo Fat so much. I knew it was going to be hard to leave him but I never knew how hard until I moved to Hawaii. I tried at first to put them behind me, to start fresh like I said, but the more time went by, the more and more I missed him. I know I wasn't his biological mother, but I thought of him like a son, and I knew I couldn't stay away, I knew I couldn't not see him ever again. So I started making trips back to Japan, just to see him. I told Yeun and Wo Fat that I had time off from school whenever I went to Japan. Wo Fat was so happy, he was a little older now, he still didn't understand why I couldn't live with them but he cherished the time we had together."

"You should've told dad, you shouldn't have kept that from him. I can see why you kept it from him when you first thought that you were never going to go back, but the minute you started going back to Japan, he had a right to know."

Steve looked up at Doris accusingly. If she had told his dad the truth from the beginning maybe things could have been different.

"I know Steve, believe me I know. I hated lying to your father, I hated keeping this from him, but with Yeun being wanted by the Pentagon I didn't want to put your father in any danger."

"Are you sure that was it? Don't tell me that it didn't cross your mind that dad might not want you to go back if he knew about Yeun."

Doris looked from Steve to the ground. Steve was too smart for his own good sometimes.

"Okay, fine. That did cross my mind, but I really didn't want your father involved in all this, I wanted to protect him. And then you and Mary came along and I wanted to protect all of you from this. We were so happy, we were a family, I didn't want anything to get in the way of that."

Steve smiled as he thought about their life before Doris faked her own death. They really were a happy family, Steve could still remember waking up every Sunday morning to Doris and Mary making pancakes and sitting on the couch with his dad watching football until breakfast was ready. They were a perfect family in every sense of the word, until Steve was 16 and that perfect world came to a crashing halt.

"All those "trips" you had to take for research for school; those were all just covers to go to Japan to visit Wo Fat, weren't they?"

"Yes."

Steve had always found it so weird how his mom seemed to be the only teacher he knew who did such extensive research for weeks at a time. Sometimes she was gone for 2-3 weeks at a time.

Steve reached over and picked up the picture of Wo Fat's high school graduation. He felt a small pang of jealousy as he stared at Doris with her arm around Wo Fat. That was a picture he had thought he would always have with his mother.

Doris looked up at Steve.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for your graduation Steve. I wanted to be, so badly, I'm so sorry I couldn't."

Steve looked up as he swallowed the lump in his throat. He remembered all the kids with their parents taking family pictures at graduation. He remembered seeing his best friend Tommy trying to wiggle out of a picture with his mom and thinking how lucky Tommy was to even have his mom be there.

Danny looked over at Steve and felt a twinge in his heart. He imagined an 18 year old Steve graduating without his mother who he thought had died in a car accident. He remembered his own graduation and how important it was to him to have his whole family there. Danny's thoughts were interrupted as Steve picked up the picture of Wo Fat University Graduation.

"This was taken two weeks before you faked your own death," Steve held up the picture.

"Yeah it was. After Wo Fat's high school graduation I started to see a change in him every time I went to visit. He wasn't that sweet, innocent little boy I once knew. He was outspoken and strong and independent, he also seemed a lot darker. I started to see traits of Yeun that had made him into the notorious killer he was. Wo Fat got angrier and angrier every time I would leave. He had done some research and found out that I had a family of my own, that I had you guys, and that that was why I always left. He asked me about it and I told him how I had met your father and wanted to start my own family. He didn't get it; he didn't understand why I wanted my own family when he thought that him and his father were my family. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth, to tell him that I had killed his mother while trying to kill his father, so I kept him in the dark, kept telling him that I wanted my own biological kids. He didn't take that too well; he threatened to kill all of you if I didn't stay with them, if I went back to you. At first I thought he was just trying to scare me, but I had acquired some intel from the Pentagon that Wo Fat had been working alongside his father in some of their recent operations. It broke my heart, I had hoped that Wo Fat would deter from that lifestyle, make a name for himself, do some good in this world. But Wo Fat wasn't the sweet little boy I knew anymore, he was angry and powerful and his father provided him with all the means necessary to follow in his footsteps. And without a mother's presence in his life, Wo Fat became just like his father."

"So you faked your death."

"Yeah. After everything I heard from the Pentagon I knew that Wo Fat would follow through on his threats, I knew that he would stop at nothing to exact his revenge if I left. The car bombing, it was the only thing I could think to do to keep you safe. I thought that if Wo Fat thought I was dead he would just drop it, he would leave John, Mary, and you alone."

Steve thought back to the day that he saw the police officer at the door and how he knew instantly that his mother was dead. To this day he could still remember the gut wrenching pain he felt knowing that she was never coming home, knowing that she would never see him graduate, fall in love, get married, have a kid. It was devastating, and for a 16 year old it was almost too much to bear.

"You should've told us," Steve's voice was quiet, barely audible, but Doris and Danny both heard.

"Steve, how could I have told you, what good would it have done?"

"What good would it have done?" Steve's head shot up. "We could've gone into hiding, have the Pentagon make us disappear, ANYTHING but what you did!" Steve's voice was louder now.

"No, no way," Doris was shaking her head. "I would never do that to you kids. Go into hiding? What kind of a life is that for a 16 and 13 year old?"

"A better life than one without our mom," Steve's choked out trying his best to steady his voice.

Danny looked at the ground, he knew this was just the beginning of an emotional breakdown from Steve and it pained him to hear the devastation in Steve's voice.

Doris looked at Steve sympathetically.

"Oh Steve, I know you think that now, but you and Mary would have been miserable. You would've been moved around from school to school, you wouldn't be able to play sports, you wouldn't have any friends, you wouldn-"

"I would've had a family..."

"You did have a family Steve, you had dad and Aunt Deb and Mary. You had a family."

Steve shook his head and looked up at Doris.

"You really don't get it do you? You have no idea what your death did to us. Our family was ripped apart the day you faked your own death. Do you have any idea what it was like to hear dad crying in the bathroom day after day? To have to hold Mary until she slept every night because she didn't want to fall asleep because every time she closed her eyes all she could see was you. I woke up EVERY morning, praying that seeing that police officer at our door telling us that you were dead was a nightmare, that I would walk downstairs and you would be there. For months I would stare at that front door hoping that by some miracle you would walk through them and make us whole again."

"Steve..." Doris hung her head as tears filled her eyes, Steve's words broke her heart.

Danny choked back his own tears as he closed his eyes.

"After you were gone, we weren't a family anymore. Dad became obsessed with your death and he shipped us off to the Mainland. He wouldn't tell us why, only that he was doing it to protect us, to keep us safe. We were so angry at him for breaking up our family, I even told him that you would've never done something like that," Steve scoffed. "Little did I know."

"Joe got me into the Army and Navy Academy. I hated it, I hated having to leave Hawaii. It was my junior year here, all my friends were here, everything that I had ever known was here, and just like that it was all taken away. First I lost you, then I practically lost dad and Mary and all sense of normalcy. I hated the Academy, I never wanted to go there. It was like a military bootcamp, nothing about it was normal to me. I never got to see dad, I barely saw Mary since she lived a few hours away with Aunt Deb. I started to resent dad for breaking up our family, for keeping Mary and I apart."

Danny was staring intently at Steve. This was the first time he was hearing a lot of this, and it hurt to hear. Steve had been through so much, he had had to grow up so quickly. To hear that Steve hated the Army and Navy Academy was a shock, he had always assumed that Steve had always been a SEAL at heart. But to be sitting there, hearing Steve's side of it, he understood his partner a whole lot better now.

"You must've liked something about the Academy Steve, cause you ended up joining the US Naval Academy," Doris was trying to make Steve see that not everything was as bad as it seemed.

"I joined the US Naval Academy because it's all I knew. How do you go from being in the Army and Navy Academy to finding a normal job? What would I study in college? By the time I graduated, the Army was all I knew, so I stuck with it."

Doris smiled.

"I know it was hard Steve, but look what an amazing man you turned into. The Academy's you attended made you who you are."

"And who says I like who I am?"

Danny's head shot up, he couldn't have heard right.

"Steve you don't mean that," Doris looked at him sharing the same sentiment of shock that Danny clearly felt.

"I am the way I am because of circumstance, not because of choice. I wanted a family, a normal childhood. I wanted to graduate high school with my friends and have you, dad, and Mary there to see me get my diploma. I wanted to go to college, choose a career for myself, maybe become a cop like dad, but I got none of that. The day you left my entire life fell apart. I stayed away from Mary for 10 years, I rarely saw dad before he was killed, I have trouble showing my emotions because I don't want to look weak, I have to always be in control because the thought of not being in control scares me to death, I'm not the happy spirited kid I once was, I have constant nightmares from things that happened while I was part of the SEALs. So no, I don't like who I am, and I'm not saying that to get pity from you or to make you feel bad. I need you to understand that what you did, the decision you made 20 years ago to leave, was the wrong decision, especially for our family. I would've given anything, _anything_, to disappear with you, dad, and Mary, at least we would've all been together, we would've been a family."

Doris felt like she couldn't breathe, hearing everything from Steve, hearing the toll her actions had taken on all of them, it was almost too much to bear.

"Mary hated dad, she never forgave him for shipping us away and splitting us up. By the time she found out the truth it was too late, she couldn't apologize to dad or tell him she loved him. She's going to have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life, and that's on you."

"I know..."

"I know you think you did the right thing, that faking your own death was worth it to make sure that we lived, but you didn't. Sure we were alive, physically we were breathing, but we weren't living. I had never felt so alone in my life. First I lost you, then I lost dad and Mary. Life was never the same after you left, we were the never the same...we were broken."

Danny's heart shattered into a million pieces at the sound of Steve's cracked voice. In all the years he had known Steve he had never seen such raw heart-breaking emotion, and he knew he probably wouldn't see it again. The look on Steve's face, the look in his eyes, it was something Danny wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. The years of emotional damage that had piled up were storming in like a raging hurricane, and it was leaving a path of utter destruction that Danny wasn't sure he was going to be able to clean up.

**TBC...**

**This was getting really long so I decided to split it up into 2 chapters. This was my take on Wo Fat is to Doris. The whole brother idea didn't make a whole lot of sense to me given their age difference and I just couldn't see Doris leaving Wo Fat if he was her son. I know not everyone is going to agree on my take of this and that's okay, but hope you guys enjoyed it still! Next part will be up in a day or two! Much much more Steve angst on the way, Doris still has a lot to own up to and Steve isn't done questioning her. Oh and Danny will play a bigger role in the next chapter :).**


	25. Batman and Batman

**Eek I'm so glad you guys liked my explanation for the connection between Doris and Wo-Fat. I put a lot of research into it hahaha I watched episodes over and over to make sure I had the correct info, and worked out the dates and years in my head lol Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews, you guys are amazing! Anywho, here is the next part of the confrontation. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Chapter 25**

"Steve..." Doris was at a loss for words, she had always thought that after she left that they would pull together as a family, not fall apart.

"I am so sorry Steve, I –"

"Wo Fat found out that you killed his mother didn't he? That's why he's been after you?" Steve didn't want to hear her apology, didn't need to hear it.

"Yes. The last time I went to visit him in Colorado, when he was in the maximum security prison, he told me that he knew. He knew that I was Shelburne; he knew what I had done. He said he was going to escape and hunt me down, which is why I've been in hiding ever since and haven't surfaced."

Steve nodded, he had at least figured that much out on his own.

"Why didn't you come to the hospital?"

"What?"

"When I was in a coma, why didn't you come see me?"

Doris looked down at the ground.

"Steve, it wasn't safe to come there, I couldn't risk it, I couldn't risk someone following me and hurting you."

Steve let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Are you kidding me? You were a spy Doris, you could've easily come in and out of the hospital undetected, Danny could've helped get you in."

"I couldn't risk it Steve, I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? I almost died! You knew the condition I was in; didn't you think for even a second that having my mother there would help me get better?"

"Of course I thought about that, I thought about you every single day! Everything that I have EVER done was to protect you, to keep you safe. I couldn't risk your life Steve, I just couldn't."

Steve shook his head and looked at the ground. Doris had an excuse for everything.

For a brief second the room was quiet, Doris was looking at Steve, Steve was looking at the ground, and Danny was watching his partner, silently praying that Steve was strong enough to handle all of this.

"Did you order the quick release of Wo Fat's body?"

"What?"

"Someone had a court order to release the body earlier than planned, was that you?"

"No...Steve I swear that wasn't me, I know nothing about that."

Steve wasn't sure whether he believed her or not but he had other pressing matters to attend to that were far more important right now.

"Why did you go?"

"To his funeral?"

"Yeah," Steve looked up at his mother.

"I had to...it was going to be the last time I got to see him...I had to see him one last time."

"Why?"

Doris looked up at Steve and the pain in her eyes took his breath away.

Steve's eyes went wide.

"You still loved him..." Steve's shaky voice got Danny's attention as his head snapped up and he looked from Steve to Doris.

"Steve..."

"That's why you let him escape at my house. You had the chance and you didn't shoot him, you didn't even arrest him, you just let him go. It's because you still loved him, you didn't want to see him behind bars."

Doris looked at the ground almost ashamed.

"I was in shock Steve. I hadn't seen him in a really long time and then all of a sudden there he was, right in front of me. We had our guns trained on each other and then he put his down...I couldn't Steve, I couldn't do it, all I saw was that little boy that I had spent so much time with."

"How could you still love him after everything he'd done?" Steve stood up off the couch, disgusted at the woman before him.

"It's complicated Steve."

"Well then uncomplicate it for me!"

"Steve..."

"No, please, explain to me how you could love the man who had your husband killed! Explain to me how you could love the man who tortured your son!"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered finding Steve in the back of that truck in North Korea and finding Steve beaten to a pulp in that cellar. How could his own mother love the man who would do that to him?

"I don't expect you to understand Steve, you haven't had kids yet."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he glared at Doris.

"HE'S NOT YOUR KID DORIS! We're your kids, Mary and me!"

"Steve..."

"Him killing dad, him torturing me, that meant nothing to you?" Steve's voice cracked as his devastation was on full display as the gut-wrenching reality started to set in.

Danny closed his eyes. This wasn't fair, none of it. Every worst case scenario that could've played out was playing out right before his eyes. He wished more than anything that he could just make this all disappear for Steve, make Doris disappear.

"Of course it did Steve, I was distraught when I heard about your dad, I was so angry when I heard about you."

"But that didn't stop you from loving him."

Doris sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I would've still loved you if you had done those things."

Danny and Steve both looked at her in shock.

"What did you just say?" Steve walked closer as he hovered over Doris.

"I still loved him yes, the same way I still would've loved you."

Steve backed away in shock.

"Don't you dare... I would NEVER do the things that he did. Do you have any idea what it was like to hear dad die, to have spoken to him moments before, to hear the gun go off and know that I was never going to see him alive again, never going to get to talk to him again, hug him again?" Steve's eyes filled with tears as he recalled that fateful day.

Danny was looking up at Steve intently. Steve had never spoken about that day, never mentioned details about the phone call or what he went through. He spoke of his dad a lot, but never of that day, until now.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Steve, I'm so so-"

"Stop saying you're sorry when you're not!"

Doris stood up and went toe to toe with her son.

"I AM sorry Steve, more than you'll ever know, and I get that you're angry, and I get that you may not understand why I felt the way I did about Wo Fat, but I love you so much. I love Mary so much and I loved your dad so much."

Steve shook his head.

"You know what the worst part is? I actually don't blame you for dad's death; I don't hate you for loving Wo Fat as a kid, none of that is on you. But letting him go, letting him escape because you loved him and didn't want to see him behind bars even after everything he had done to our family; that I can't forgive." Steve angled his body so as to make a pathway to the door. "You should go."

"No Steve, no I'm not leaving, not like this. We need to talk, we need to fix this."

"Fix what? What you broke can't be fixed. You loved Wo Fat despite the fact that he ripped our lives apart. You faked your own death because of him, because he threatened to kill US...and you still loved him. What else is there to talk about? We came second to you, we were never as important as your first 'son'."

"Oh Steve. You have no idea how very wrong you are. I love you guys with all of my heart," tears started to cascade down Doris's face as Steve tried to hold it together, his own tears threatening to pool over.

"You should go," Steve glanced down knowing that if he looked into his mother's eyes he would completely break down.

Doris looked at Steve and knew that this was it, he was never going to understand, he was never going to see things the way she did, and she didn't blame him. After everything he had been through, how could she?

She walked to the door with tears streaming down her face.

"And Doris,"

Doris turned around hoping that Steve would say something, anything to give her hope that one day he would forgive her, that one day they would be able to have a relationship again, but those hopes were crushed with his next words.

"Don't ever come back."

Doris swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You don't mean that Steve, I'm your mother!"

Steve shook his head.

"No...as far as I'm concerned, my mother died 22 years ago in a car explosion."

Doris's eyes went wide as her heart broke into a million pieces as she stood there staring at Steve. She had never seen such pain in his eyes, such hurt and anger.

"No matter what you believe, I love you Steven, and I always will," Doris turned around and walked out the door.

Danny sat on the couch frozen. He would have never expected Steve to say what he had just said, that just showed Danny how broken Steve was.

Steve closed the door behind Doris and stood there with his shaky hand on the door knob.

A few seconds later Steve walked over and sat down in the chair across Danny. The two sat there in silence, Danny not knowing what to say and Steve staring at the floor like he was miles away trying to comprehend everything that had just happened.

Danny looked up and took a long hard look at Steve. He looked terrible; he looked completely and utterly exhausted, his eyes were red and Danny could tell how hard he was fighting to keep the tears at bay.

"Steve..."

Steve looked up at Danny and the sheer and utter devastation in Steve's eyes made Danny's own heart stop.

"You should go Danny..." Steve didn't want Danny around, he didn't want anyone around. He was pretty sure he was about to completely break down and he didn't want Danny to witness that. The one thing Steve hated more than not being in control was other people seeing that he was not in control.

Danny shook his head.

"No way, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to talk to me, we can just sit here and not say a word, but I'm not going anywhere, I'm not leaving you alone."

"I'm not gonna do anything stupid Danny," Steve reassured him thinking that Danny was staying because he was worried that Steve would hurt himself.

"I know that, that's not why I'm staying."

Steve looked away too exhausted to argue and too emotionally drained to put up a fight.

Steve rubbed a hand over his tired face and stopped when his hand was covering his mouth. Everything started to sink in, everything Doris said, everything she had admitted. Steve thought back to everything they had gone through, everything that they had had to endure because of Doris, because of Wo Fat. His childhood, Mary's childhood, his father's happiness, they were all taken away in the blink of an eye. He had tried so hard to bury his feelings, to bury the pain he felt inside, and for years he had done a good job. But today, today it was all coming to a head, and he hated that he couldn't control it.

Steve tried his best, he really did, but as hard as he tried to hold them back, one by one the tears started streaming down his face. He grabbed both hands and buried his face inside, not wanting Danny to see his meltdown.

Danny got up and sat on the coffee table directly in front of Steve and placed a hand on his shoulder as Steve's entire body shook from the exhaustion and emotional strain of not only today but the last 22 years.

"Let it out babe, it's okay, it's okay," Danny coaxed Steve. Danny was pretty sure that this was the first time in a very, very long time, that Steve had allowed himself to be vulnerable, allowed himself to actually feel everything that he had bottled up inside for years.

Danny prayed that Steve didn't see this breakdown as a sign of weakness. He prayed that Steve understood that what he was going through right now, the emotions he was no longer able to control, was the sign of a man who had been strong for far too long, who hadn't let himself grieve, and who had been so busy being everybody else's rock, that he had neglected to anchor himself. As much as it hurt Danny to see Steve cry, as much as it broke his heart, he knew that Steve needed this, he knew that if Steve was ever going to heal from this, this was going to be the first step.

After a few minutes Steve wiped his hands over his tear stained face and took a deep breath.

"I don't get it man, I don't get how she could..." Steve stopped mid sentence as he shook his head in frustration.

"I know babe," Danny didn't need Steve to finish that sentence he knew exactly what Steve was wondering. _How she could leave us, how she could love him, how she could forgive him, how she could not care about her own family._

"20 years Danny, 20 years my dad spent looking for answers to my mom's death, and she had been alive the entire time. He destroyed himself over it and he died thinking that he failed her, that he failed to find her killers."

Steve shook his head as he thought about how unfair the whole situation was.

"She loved him...after everything she still loved him, what kind of a mother would love a man who ripped her family apart? And it's not like he lied and broke us up, he threatened to kill us...he murdered my dad...god my dad...he deserved better than her..."

"You all did," Danny looked at Steve. Danny hated Doris with a passion, the pain she had caused her family, the pain she was causing Steve, if he never saw that woman again it would be too soon.

"Yeah..."

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes before Danny brought up something that had been bothering him from the minute it left Steve's mouth.

"I like who you are."

This caught Steve's attention as his red-rimmed eyes looked up at his partner.

"What?"

"You said you don't like who you are, I just wanted to tell you that I do... like who you are, and so does Grace, and so does everybody else who knows you."

"You shouldn't..."

"I shouldn't? Well, I do."

"We barely agree on anything when it comes to policing Danny, how can you say you like who I am?"

Danny gave Steve a "are you kidding me" look.

"We don't always agree because we have very different personalities, it doesn't mean that I don't like who you are. I may not always agree with your approach to handling a situation but that's because we have two different minds Steve, its normal. I trust you with Grace's life and I don't trust ANYBODY with my daughter's life, if anything ever happened to Rachel and me I would want you to raise my daughter, because there's no one I trust more, that's how much I like who you are. And I trust you with my life, there is nobody, and I mean nobody else who I would want watching my back than you. You're the best at what you do, no one even comes close."

Danny stopped talking as he tried to let everything he had just said sink into Steve's head. He then remembered something that Grace had said, and knew that Steve needed to hear it.

"Rachel and I got in a fight one day about me being a detective; she said it wasn't fair to Grace, that my job scared her. So that night I asked Grace if she was scared that I was a detective, that if it worried her every time I left in the morning. And you know what she said to me?"

Steve looked up at Danny.

"What?"

"She smiled and said 'no way'. She said, and I quote, 'As long as Uncle Steve is your partner I'll never be worried about you Danno, you and Uncle Steve always keep each other safe. You're like Batman and Robin, except you're both Batman'."

Steve let a small laugh out as he smiled.

Danny could've jumped for joy at the smile that appeared on Steve's face.

"You've got a smart kid Danno."

"Yeah, and she loves you Steve, just like we all do. This may not have been the life that you chose Steve, and although the Academy's you went to shaped who you became, this, in here," Danny pointed to Steve's heart. "...that's who you are, and that's who you have always been. You have the biggest heart out of anyone I have ever met in my entire life; you put everyone else before you, always. I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for everything that you have gone through, for everything that you have lost, but I am not sorry that all of those events placed you here, on _this_ island, heading _this_ task force. You're the best thing that's happened to Grace and me, she worships the ground you walk on and I couldn't have asked for a better best friend than you. You've been there for me through everything Steve, the past 5 years haven't been the easiest, but I always had you and Grace, you two have been my constants. You're my family, you're Grace's family, and when everything is going wrong, when everything seems to be crumbling around me, that's what I come back to, you and Grace. We all have our flaws Steve, we all have things we wished we could change about ourselves, but that's what makes us human, that's what separates us from the psychos we put away."

Steve sat there taking in everything Danny was saying.

"When I first started here you told me that I wasn't as alone on this island as I thought, and you were right. Now it's my turn to tell you the same. You're not alone Steve, you're _never_ going to be alone, not if I have anything to say about it. We may not be your biological family, but Grace and I love you just the same. We're Ohana and nothing will ever change that. You're stuck with us partner, and you're never gonna be able to get rid of us."

And there it was, his constant in his overly complicated, tragic life.

Steve smiled with tears in his eyes as he looked up at Danny. The love that he saw in his partner's eyes took his breath away as a tiny shard from his broken heart started to fall back into place. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, he knew healing from everything he had found out and from losing his mother again to a fate worse than death, was going to take awhile. Steve wasn't sure how long it would take, he wasn't even sure if he would ever completely feel whole again, but he was certain of one thing; he was going to be okay; he was going to put as many pieces of his heart back together again because he knew that his stubborn, scrappy, loyal-to-a-fault brother sitting in front of him was going to make sure of it.

"I'd never want to Danno."

**TBC...**


	26. Always

**Wow thank you guys SO much for your amazing comments and reviews of the last two revelation chapt****ers, I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to read each and every one of them. So glad you guys enjoyed it so much :). Sorry for the delay in posting the next chapter, my sister-in-law is getting married and it's been crazy busy with wedding stuff so I've had no time to write. I'm leaving for Cancun on Sunday so I'm hoping to have another chapter up before I leave since I'll be gone for a week. Anywho, hope you guys enjoy the next instalment, just a short fluffy chapter with the boys, more to come soon! xoxo**

**Chapter 26**

It had been a long, tiring day; 14 hours to be exact. Danny sunk into his chair in his office, wanting to finish up some last minute paper work before him and Steve headed home. Danny was still living at Steve's; after everything that happened with Doris, he didn't want to leave Steve alone, and Steve hadn't asked him to leave, so Danny stayed.

As Danny was finishing up the last of his paper work he looked up from his computer into Steve's office. It had been a week since Doris had dropped the bombshell on Steve and Steve had subsequently kicked her out of his house, vowing never to see her again. Since that day Steve had been putting up a good front, to everyone else he seemed like he was pretty much back to normal; making jokes and going into raids guns blazing, but Danny knew better, he could see the cracks in Steve's smile and the emptiness in his eyes from the void that was slowly swallowing him whole.

It was these fleeting moments, like the one he was currently witnessing, that the others never seemed to catch. He could see his partner sitting in his office staring at his computer screen, hands on his lap, nowhere near the mouse. Even from afar Danny could see the glazed over look in Steve's eyes telling him that his stoic partner was somewhere else, physically he was there but mentally he was checked out and it didn't take a genius to guess where his head was at.

Danny had thought that after Steve's breakdown at his house a week ago that he would be more open, at least with him, but he had been wrong. Something in Steve broke that day and as much as Danny wanted to piece it back together he was starting to worry that it wasn't possible.

The past week had shown Danny small glimpses of the damage that Doris had caused. It was the small things that got to him, the off moments where Steve would zone out or look like he was miles away, the jokes that he would crack at his own expense to make everyone think that he was okay, the late nights he worked so that he wouldn't have to deal with whatever was going on in his head, and the restless nights he would have when Danny could hear him awake and unable to sleep.

Danny sighed. He hated this, as if Steve hadn't suffered enough in his life, to have to find out that Doris was protecting the man responsible for all of their suffering, it just wasn't fair.

Danny packed up his things, closed his computer, and went to grab Steve.

"Ready to head out?" Danny peered into Steve's office.

Steve hadn't even realized that Danny was in his office as he continued to stare at the screen in front of him.

Danny looked worriedly at Steve.

"Steve...you ready to go?" Danny said a little louder bringing Steve back from wherever he had gone.

Steve's head suddenly snapped up.

"Uh, yeah, I'm ready." Steve closed his laptop and grabbed his belongings.

As the two made their way out Danny headed for the driver's side.

_That was something else that had changed about Steve, he let Danny drive._

As much as Danny enjoyed driving his own car, he hated the cost it came at.

They were half way home when Danny looked over at Steve. Steve hadn't said a word the entire car ride and had been staring out the window the entire time.

"You okay?"

Steve spun his head to look at Danny.

"Yeah, I'm good Danny."

Danny could see right through the fake smile that Steve plastered on his face. He shook his head as Steve turned and looked out the window once again. He didn't want to push Steve but he knew he was going to have to make Steve talk sooner or later.

* * *

After dinner Steve headed up to bed as he had been doing every night for the past week; if he wasn't working he was sleeping, or trying to. Danny was on the couch and watched as Steve headed up the stairs. He put his head back and let out a deep sigh. Steve wasn't dealing; he wasn't coping with what he had found out, the only thing he was doing was trying to bury it somewhere deep hoping that by some miracle it stayed buried. But Danny knew better; this wasn't something Steve was going to be able to forgive and forget, it was something that would fester inside of him until it ate him alive.

Danny stayed downstairs for a little while longer before heading upstairs himself.

* * *

Danny woke up to the sound of footsteps down the hall. He looked over at his clock, 2:34am. Danny sighed as he laid his head back down staring at the ceiling.

Steve was up...again. He knew he couldn't just roll around and go to bed, not this time.

Danny got up and made his way over to Steve's room. The door was ajar but Danny knocked anyway.

_No response._

Danny looked inside a little and could see Steve sitting on the ground on the side of the bed; he slowly opened the door and walked in and paused as he saw Steve.

Steve was sitting on the ground with his knees up, elbows on his knees and his right hand was holding the picture of Wo Fat, Yeun, and Doris at his high school graduation.

Danny closed his eyes as he took in the scene in front of him.

"Hey..."

Steve looked up as he put the picture down.

"Danny...oh man did I wake you, I'm sorry."

Danny smiled and took a seat beside Steve on the ground.

"It's fine Steve, still looking at those pictures huh?"

Steve looked down embarrassed as he shoved the pictures back in the envelope and pushed it under his bed. Danny sighed.

"Steve...you have to talk to someone man, a professional, someone who can help you through this."

Steve looked over and grinned.

"That's what I have you for."

Danny shook his head.

"That would be fine, if you were actually _talking_ to me, but you're not, you just keep saying that you're okay."

Steve looked away.

Danny took a deep breath. _Here we go again. _He hated the silence, he couldn't try and fix silence, he wouldn't even know where to begin.

A few minutes later Danny just shook his head.

"You can't keep doing this Steve, you can't go on like this, you're going to destroy yourself," Danny pointed out as Steve continued to stare straight ahead, not even acknowledging what Danny had just said.

Danny knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with Steve so with a sigh of resignation he stood up and started walking to the door when...

"I'm not okay..."

Danny froze as he turned around and looked at Steve. Although Steve was still staring straight ahead, the tone in those three words made Danny's heart drop.

Danny made his way back to where he was sitting just seconds ago, beside Steve on the ground.

"I know..."

Danny looked over and could see the slight shake in Steve's hand. He knew Steve was ready to talk now; all he had to do was sit and wait.

A few more minutes passed before...

"I don't know how to get passed this. When I thought my mom died, there was finality in it almost, she was gone, it was a car accident, a drunk driver. I coped with it, it took time but I made my peace with it. When my dad was killed it was a lot harder, but I had a purpose, I had something to do, I had to find the person who did it and bring them to justice. Same thing for when I found out that my mom's accident wasn't an accident and that it was a car bomb, it took some time to sink in but it became a mission to find the person who did it. With this...I don't know what to do next, I don't know where to go from here, and I hate it."

Danny shook his head, hearing Steve mention those three pivotal moments in his life out loud made Danny's heart ache. Steve had already been through more than most people go through in a lifetime. Danny also understood why this was so hard for Steve to deal with. There were no questions to be answered, for the first time in his life he had all the answers, but those answers lead him to a much harsher reality, one filled with deceit and betrayal; two things that could keep scars from ever healing.

"What Doris did...I can't even begin to try and understand how you feel. You've been through more than anyone should ever have to go through, so you not knowing how to feel, not knowing how to deal with this, that's normal Steve."

"It doesn't feel normal..." Steve looked away from Danny and back at the ground.

"That's because you're Steven McGarrett, super SEAL extraordinaire!" Danny hands went up to accentuate his point. "Your entire life since your mom left has been about discipline and control, everything you were ever taught was focussed around those two key components. But life outside of the Navy doesn't always work like that babe. And everything you've gone through, everything that you've found out, no one expects you to feel like you're in control, no one expects you to go back to normal like nothing ever happened, except for you. I know you think you need to be strong and not let anything faze you, but its okay to admit that you're hurting, you're never going to get passed this if you bottle it all up inside."

Danny looked at Steve, really hoping that he was getting through to his thick-headed partner. Steve took in everything Danny was saying, knowing that his partner was right, he needed to let it all out.

"Up until a week ago, I thought that I had just gone through a lot of really terrible things in my life, everything seemed to be clouded with death, but I worked around it, I moved on the best I could. But to hear Doris say the things that she said that day, to hear about her and Wo Fat, to hear how she had protected him after everything he had done, even after he had my father killed...it just feels like my entire life has been one big lie Danny. There were so many things that Doris kept from us, I'm starting to doubt everything I ever knew about her...hell, I'm even starting to doubt whether she really loved us."

Danny shook his head.

"Don't Steve, don't do that. As much as I hate Doris, I don't doubt for a second that she loved you, Mary, and your dad. You said it yourself, before the car bomb you guys were a really happy family; your parents loved each other and loved you and Mary, don't lose sight of that because of everything that happened after."

"I wanna believe that, I do, but how can she love us AND love him? He destroyed us; he threatened our lives, he killed my father, and she still protected him. If she loved us wouldn't she have turned him in at the least? I mean hell look at you, you can't even forgive your brother for what he did to me, and I'm still alive! You arrested Matty, who you adored, and I'm not even your family...says a lot about Doris."

Danny looked at Steve sharply.

"You are my family."

"I know, but you know what I mean, we're not blood related, Doris is my mother and you've shown you care more than she ever has."

Danny looked at the ground. He had no idea what to say to Steve, everything Steve was saying was valid. Danny knew that if anyone hurt Grace the way that Wo Fat had hurt Steve he would make it his mission to put them behind bars at the least and he would hate them with a venomous passion, so he couldn't excuse Doris, he wouldn't.

"How am I supposed to ever look at her again, how am I supposed to forgive her?" Steve tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Maybe you don't..."

This caught Steve's attention as he looked up at his partner.

"At least not yet. Everything that Doris kept from all of you, all the secrets and lies, and her forgiving Wo Fat, protecting him, that's not something you easily forgive. It's going to take a while Steve, and if you never forgive her, that's okay too. But in the meantime, while you're figuring it all out, doing this," Danny motioned between him and Steve. "...talking, keep doing it. I'm here for you buddy, and I'm not going anywhere. I may not always have something to say but sometimes it just helps to vent out loud."

"Yeah." Steve nodded his head in agreement.

"I know it all seems really bleak right now, but think of it this way, it can only go up from here right? You know everything now; there are no more secrets or lies and how you feel right now, this is the worst you're going to feel, you can only start to feel better from here on out. You're going to get through this Steve, Gracie and I will make sure of that."

Steve let everything Danny was saying sink in. Danny was right; this was as bad as it was going to get, so if he could find a way to pull himself out of this, he was going to be okay.

Steve looked at Danny and smiled.

"See, I told you you're the only therapist I need."

Danny laughed as he squeezed Steve's shoulder.

Steve nodded his head as he looked up at Danny.

"Thanks Danno...for everything."

_For finding me, for standing by my side, for defending me, for pushing me to talk, for being my family._

Danny smiled as he saw the sincerity in Steve's eyes and heard the sincerity in his voice.

"No thanks necessary, we have each other's backs no matter what...always."

Steve smiled and nodded.

"Always."

**TBC...**


	27. Loved - Past Tense

Danny could smell the pancakes as he walked downstairs.

"Danno, Uncle Steve and I are making pancakes!" Grace's squeal brought an instant smile to Danny's face.

"I can see that monkey," Danny wiped a hand over his waking face and couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face at the site of Steve flipping pancakes, partly covered in flour.

"I think all that flour is meant to be in the bowl Steven, not on you."

Steve turned around with a grin.

"That's cute Danny, really."

Danny let out a laugh as he sat down at the table facing the two master chefs in his kitchen. He watched the two of them manoeuvre their way around like they had perfected this two-man cooking crew. Grace was mixing the ingredients right beside Steve who was on the stove flipping away. Occasionally the two would share a funny joke or story and bellow out laughing. Danny could sit there and watch this for hours. It was nice to see Steve smile, to see Steve laugh again, and not a forced laughed but a sincere, honest, hurt-your-belly kind of laugh.

_You're going to get through this Steve, Grace and I will make sure of that._

That was the promise he had made Steve last night, and he meant every word. He was thankful for last night, he knew that was a conversation that had needed to happen, a conversation that was long overdue, and he was so glad that Steve hadn't shut him out, hadn't pulled away and tried to deal with it on his own. Last night was good, last night was the first step to hopefully moving past everything that had happened the last few weeks.

Danny's thoughts were interrupted as Steve placed a plate, with about 20 pancakes stacked on top, in the middle of the table. Grace was right behind him with the butter, syrup, plates, and utensils.

"Wow, are we feeding the entire neighbourhood this morning?" Danny joked as he pulled Grace in for a hug.

"Dannooooo!"

"I'm just kidding monkey, this looks fantastic, and I'm starving so let's dig in!"

Once everyone had some pancakes on their plate Grace started telling Danny how she got up really early with Uncle Steve, something she sounded very proud of.

"I was up at 6am Danno, Uncle Steve told me I should go back to sleep but I wasn't tired so we watched cartoons!" Grace's smile was too big for her face at the moment.

"Cartoons huh? Uncle Steve didn't make you watch any of his ninja movies?" Danny joked.

"Uncle Steve saves those for you Danno," Grace and Steve both laughed.

"Oh does he now? Well that's very kind of you Steven."

"It's for your own good Danny; you need to be more cultured."

Danny practically spat out the pancake in his mouth.

"I need to be – ha that's good Steven, really," Danny shook his head and laughed as he took a sip of his orange juice.

Just then the doorbell rang and when Danny stood up to get it Steve stopped him.

"I'll get it, enjoy breakfast with Gracie."

Danny smiled appreciatively as he sat back down.

Steve made his way over to the front door and opened it, fully expecting to see Kono or Chin.

"Matt..." Steve stood there starring at Danny's brother, thankful that he had been the one to answer the door instead of Danny.

Matt smiled nervously.

"Hey Steve."

"When'd you get out?"

Matt shifted uneasily.

"Uh, few days ago. Is Danny here?"

"Yeah, look Matt, I'm not really sure this is a good time, I don't know if Danny's ready to see you yet." Ok so that was a lie, Steve knew that Danny was definitely not ready.

Just then Danny came in from the kitchen.

"Steve, Grace wants to know if you want straw..." Danny froze as he laid eyes on his little brother.

Steve could see the slight shake in Matt's hands; he was nervous. Matt may have the height advantage over Danny but Danny could put the fear of god into anybody, especially when his anger was directed towards them.

Danny's expression turned from shock to anger.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hey to you too big brother," Matt joked as he walked towards Danny.

Danny stepped back.

"When'd you get out?"

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat.

"A few days ago, Steve spoke to the May-"

"I know," Danny cut him off.

Matt nodded, of course Danny knew.

"I was released on the conditions that I go to rehab, put in 200 hours of community service, and attend meetings for at risk youth and explain to them the consequences of their actions."

Danny laughed mockingly and Steve spoke up before Danny could say something he was going to regret.

"That's great Matt, really."

Matt smiled.

"Yeah, I really hope I can get through to them. Apparently half the kids in these programs are barely teens; I don't want them to do the things that I've done."

Danny shook his head in disgust as he was right back in that warehouse again. With everything that had been going on with Yeun and Doris he had been so busy trying to heal Steve's demons that he actually allowed himself to almost forgot that he had his own, and one of them was currently standing in front of him.

"Make sure you tell them how you traded Steve's life for money, I'm sure they'll get a real kick out of that."

"Danny..."

"What?" Danny looked at Steve angrily. "Just because you forgave him doesn't mean that I have to."

Steve saw the intensity in Danny's eyes and kept his mouth shut. He knew what Matt had put Danny through and he also knew that he would feel the same way if the roles were reversed.

Matt looked down at the ground.

"It's okay Steve, I deserve it. You're his best friend and I almost got you killed, I'd hate me too."

Danny rolled his eyes.

"I can't thank you enough Steve, what you did for me, I didn't deserve it."

"You damn right you didn't deserve it," Danny mumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"You're welcome Matt, jus don't make me regret it okay, get the help that you need so you can get better."

Matt smiled at Steve appreciatively.

"I will, I promise."

Danny shook his head.

"Why are you even here?"

"I uh...I'm leaving town, I'm heading back to Jersey," Matt said looking at Danny hoping to see some disappointment in him leaving, but Danny had the complete opposite reaction.

"Good, the farther away you are from here the better," Danny looked away from Matt and to the ground.

"Danny...I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for I put you through...for what I put Steve through. That's something I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life."

Steve could see Danny's closed fists at his side and knew it was taking everything in him not to lay Matt on the ground.

"Save it Matt, I don't want to hear it."

"Danny, c'mon man, I just came here to say goodbye okay, I don't wanna fight."

"You shouldn't have come."

"I'm leaving town Danny, probably for good, of course I had to come. I had to come say bye to my big brother."

"Don't call me that," Danny's voice was cold.

"What? Don't call you my big brother? We're family Danny."

Danny looked up with conviction in his eyes.

"We are NOT family, YOU are not my family."

"...You don't mean that. Look I know what I did was terrible but – " before Matt could even finish he was pinned up against the wall with an irate Danny breathing down on him.

Steve instinctively stepped towards the two.

"Danny..." but Steve knew better, he knew Danny needed to get this off his chest.

"Terrible? You son of a bitch you nearly cost me my best friend, someone who I actually _do_ consider a brother. I had to watch him die, and that's something _I'm_ going to have to live with for the rest of my life, so don't you dare stand here and act like you just crashed my favourite car. Terrible doesn't even begin to cover what you did, the only reason that you're not laid out flat on your ass right now is because my daughter is in that other room. I will NEVER forgive you for what you did, ever!" Danny slammed Matt's back into the wall to make sure he got his point got across.

"Danno..."

The little voice from the corner of the room caught everyone's attention as Danny instinctively let go of Matt. This wasn't something Grace was supposed to see.

"Gracie, go back into the kitchen baby."

But Grace stayed right where she was; she was definitely her mother.

"Uncle Matt, what are you doing here?"

Danny closed his eyes as her broken voice fuelled Danny's anger even more.

"Gracie, baby, I'm going back to New Jersey, I just wanted to come and say goodbye."

Grace seemed a little confused.

"But I thought you were in jail?"

Matt didn't seem to know how to answer that and Danny wasn't capable of speaking at the moment so Steve spoke up.

"He was Gracie, but remember how we were saying that Uncle Matt was sick?"

"Yeah..."

"They released him so he can get the help he needs so that he can get better."

"Oh," after thinking about what Steve had said to her, Grace walked up to Danny. "Is it okay if I say bye to Uncle Matt?"

As much as Danny wanted Grace as far away from Matt as possible he knew this was something she needed, she needed closure.

"Of course monkey."

She then looked at Steve.

"Uncle Steve, is it okay?"

Steve looked down at Grace, the shock of her even asking him was soon replaced with the warmth of knowing how much that little girl cared about him.

"Of course Gracie."

Grace walked up to Matt as Matt knelt down.

"Hey Munchkin, I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly, I'm going to miss you."

Grace stood there staring at Matt for a few seconds.

"I don't like what you did to Uncle Steve, but Uncle Steve said that you're sick and that I should forgive you."

Matt looked up to Steve and smiled in gratitude.

"That's really nice of your Uncle Steve, do you forgive me munchkin?"

Grace looked up at Steve almost looking for permission.

Steve smiled and nodded his head at Grace at which point she hugged Matt.

"Yeah, I forgive you Uncle Matt."

Matt's smile spread from ear to ear.

"Thank you Gracie, have I ever told you that you're my favourite niece?"

"Uncle Mattttttt, I'm your only niece."

Matt laughed and ruffled her hair, "Technicalities munchkin." He then stood up and looked at Danny and Steve.

"Alright well, I guess I'll be going then."

"Have a safe flight Matt, and good luck with everything," Steve said as he put his hand out.

Matt was quick to take the handshake as it took all of Danny's restraint not to pry those two hands apart.

"Thank you so much Steve, seriously, for everything."

"You're welcome," Steve smiled.

"Danny..." Matt looked up at his brother hoping for anything from Danny, and thought he was going to get something as he saw Danny walk towards him, but then Danny kept walking towards the door.

"You should go Matt," Danny was looking outside as he held the door open.

Matt stood there looking at Danny for a few seconds before he started moving towards the door. He knew that this was possibly the last time he was ever going to see his brother.

"I love you Danny, I am so sorry. I hope that one day you can forgive me."

Danny just looked at the ground as Matt turned around and walked out the door.

"Gracie, why don't you start cleaning up in the kitchen and I'll come help you," Steve told Grace knowing that Danny didn't want her to see him like this.

"Okay Uncle Steve."

Once Grace left the room Steve walked up to Danny who was still standing in the doorway.

"You okay?"

Danny looked up at Steve and Steve noticed that the anger that was present in his partner's eyes had been replaced with exhaustion and hurt.

Danny took a deep breath.

"I'm fine."

"You're a terrible liar."

Danny smiled.

"Takes one to know one."

Steve smirked and then the two of them went quiet, still standing by the door.

"I'm sorry Danny."

Danny looked up at Steve incredulously.

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

"That Matt got dragged into my whole mess with Wo Fat."

Danny furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you kidding me? No one MADE him do anything. Matt's a grown man and he makes his own decisions. Wo Fat didn't blackmail him or trick him into anything, he offered him something in exchange for you and Matt made the choice to go through with it on his own accord. That's not on you, that's on him. You have _nothing_ to apologize for."

Steve nodded his head, Danny had a point.

"I'm still sorry that you have to go through this, I know how much you love Matty."

"Loved," Danny corrected.

"Danny..." Steve started but was cut off by Danny who clearly was not in a mood to talk.

"I'm going to go help Grace clean up."

Steve sighed as Danny brushed past him. He knew deep down Danny still loved his younger brother and he hoped that one day Danny would realize that. Steve knew better than anyone what this kind of anger could do to a person and he didn't want to see Danny spiral. Danny needed to heal just as much as Steve did – god they were a mess.

**TBC...**


End file.
